It’s easy enough for law firms to hire partners and open offices. Hell, they can even merge if they want to. But none of these steps really matter if the client mandates don’t follow.

For all their talk of hires and strategy, firms are often coy about the share of deals they win. I suppose it’s uncouth to talk about making money out of clients, even though that is what the industry is all about. Don’t forget fees on a single big transaction can top £10 million.