More than 5,000 solicitor jobs in the UK would need to go to deal with substantial over-capacity in the legal market, according to a new report by one of the leading law firm bankers.

A report released today (19 March) by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) argues that the legal profession is over-resourced in the face of a "permanent structural change in market forces in the UK" and has the "opportunity" to remove 5% of the fee earner base.

Such a move in England and Wales would constitute the loss of nearly 6,000 solicitor jobs based on the most recent figures, with Law Society research last year showing 117,862 practising solicitors. The bank estimates this would save around £280m in annual costs for the UK legal profession.