Legal Services Market Outlook (2022 to 2032)

The global legal services industry is predicted to increase at a 4.6% CAGR during the forecast period from 2022 to 2032. The legal services market is estimated to garner a valuation of USD 400 Billion by the end of 2022.

Development in the historical period was driven by significant economic growth in emerging nations, increasing mergers and acquisitions (M&A), higher consumer spending/more disposable income, and legal sector deregulation. Regulatory hurdles, skills shortages, and in-house legal teams raised pressure on traditional law firms, all of which hampered expansion over the historical period.

Rising demand for transactional practice areas, a developing legal IT industry, and globalization will fuel development in the future. Owing to this factor, the worldwide legal services market is anticipated to attain a value pool of USD 627.12 Billion by the end of 2032. Rising prices and declining margins, a lack of transparency and consistent service quality, data security challenges and a reduction in free trade are all factors that might stymie future growth in the legal services business.

The rise of Artificial Intelligence has transformed the legal sector (AI). Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled software has been critical in helping law firms and attorneys to save time. Document generation and review are more efficient when using automation technologies. Team collaboration tools may aid in further simplifying documentation methods. These technology innovations and discoveries benefit attorneys by cutting costs and increasing comfort.

Attributes Details
Legal Services Market CAGR (2022 to 2032) 4.6%
Legal Services Market (2032) USD 627.12 Billion
Legal Services Market Attraction The trend toward digitalization and increased usage of cutting-edge technology are expected to boost the growth of the legal services industry during the forecast period.

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What are the Factors Driving Global Legal Services Market?

Digitization and Widespread use of Cutting-Edge Technology to Boost the Market

Legal firms are exploring digitization in order to expedite their procedures. Adoption of technology like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, machine learning, and big data analytics aids in quicker documentation, proofreading, and resource management. This results in cost savings and improved operational efficiency. These technologies can also match the rising demands of investors and clients by providing greater service delivery. Furthermore, growing legal regulations as well as heightened rivalry force businesses to invest in modern technology. Thus, increased digitalization and a trend toward automation are anticipated to drive the market of the legal services market throughout the forecast period.

Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) are advanced technologies that assist professionals in automating some activities and focusing their resources and time on critical legal tasks. These technologies enable organizations to design and assess contracts, as well as do document mining and due diligence. Big data analytics is also expected to increase at a rapid pace. This has fueled the emergence of businesses like FiscalNote, Ravel Law, and InvestCEE Tanacsado Kft., which supply their clients with high-quality, technologically enhanced analytical insights.

The legal services industry is likely to be driven by an increase in transactional practices during the forecast period. Transactional practice involves corporate, tax, and real estate work, as well as mergers and acquisitions investigation, preparation, and evaluation of papers for people and businesses. The multitude of mergers and acquisitions in several industries, including pharmaceutical, accounting, and technology, is expected to increase during the forecast period, owing to pharmaceutical companies seeking new possibilities to improve their product portfolios due to the patent expiration of popular drugs in 2023 to 2026.

One of the anticipated acquisitions is the purchase of Celgene, an American biotechnology company, by Bristol-Myers Squibb, a global biopharmaceutical company based in the United States, in order to create a leading biopharma company to address patients suffering from oncology, immunology, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease. Another significant transaction was Vista Equity Partners' USD 3.5 billion purchase of Pluralsight, an online training course provider. In Saudi Arabia, the predicted increase in M&A activity may be linked to government measures to diversify the Kingdom's economy and loosen laws governing foreign direct investment, which are backed by Vision 2030 economic reform. The legal services industry is likely to be driven by an increase in M&A activity across sectors and nations.

Legal Services Market

What are the Challenges of the Global Legal Services Market?

Rising Prices as well as Shrinking Margins Impede the Global Legal Services Market Growth

Economic development will result in salary rises as well as a shortage of trained employees in a skilled labor-intensive industry such as legal services. These rising input prices will put pressure on legal services businesses aiming to safeguard profits while maintaining service quality.

According to an Altmanweil poll conducted in 2017, about 95.4% of law firms said that price competitiveness was a significant trend influencing the legal services market and harming their profit margins. Rising legal service expenses are projected to limit the legal services market's expansion.

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What are the Emerging Opportunities in the Global Legal Services Market?

ALSPs are rapidly appearing in the legal business. They are essentially in the law industry and offer a variety of everyday legal services to businesses and law firms. ALSPs handle a wide range of responsibilities for businesses, including document review, litigation, contract life cycle management, compliance, and legal entity management.

This improves the efficiency of law firms by allocating resources more wisely, resulting in cost savings. ALSPs also employ technology to accelerate the value chain in legal services. Thus, over the projection period, ALSPs will generate profitable chances for the expansion of legal services.

What is the Segmentation Analysis of the Global Legal Services Market?

Based on services, the global legal services market can be segmented into taxation, real estate, litigation, bankruptcy, labor/employment, and corporate. Based on firm size, the worldwide legal services market can be segmented into large firms, medium firms, and small firms. Based on the provider, the international legal services market can be segmented into private practicing attorneys, legal business firms, government departments, and others.

As per the analysis, on the basis of service type, the corporate segment led the market in 2021, accounting for more than 25% of worldwide sales. This large percentage is due to the advent of new sorts of financial transactions on business fronts. Furthermore, the corporate category is forecasted to be the dominant service segment during the projection period from 2022 to 2032, as disputes over employee harassment, organizational discrimination audits, and copyright and patent infringement continue to soar. The amplifying demand for intellectual property-related services in the business sector is anticipated to drive the segment's expansion.

In 2021, the litigation segment had a significant revenue share as establishments continued to incur significant expenditures in their lawsuit management. Moreover, third-party legal finance and lawsuit funding service providers are gradually increasing their global capability and widening their jurisdiction range. This has opened up a plethora of prospects for litigation service providers. The implementation of severe labor relations and intellectual property (IP) protection legislation in both developed as well as in emerging nations has contributed to an increase in demand for litigation services.

On the other hand, by firm size, the big firm division led the market in 2021, accounting for more than 36% of worldwide sales. This substantial percentage can be due to large enterprises' diverse variety of services. For example, big firms handle the majority of judicial work, such as large-scale litigations, substantial corporate transactions, and criminal defense proceedings for companies in a variety of sectors. The amplifying demand for corporate and judicial services from big organizations is likely to boost the expansion of the large company category throughout the predicted period.

Similarly, medium- and small-sized legal services firms are expanding globally by recruiting attorneys and building offices overseas. These businesses generally target international clients to aid them in handling their legal needs. They are also broadening their worldwide consumer base by offering high-end specialist services involving complicated transactions. As a result, the medium-firm and small-firm categories are expected to maintain a significant revenue share during the forecast period.

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Regional Analysis of the Legal Services Market

Geographically, North America led the market, accounting for more than 40% of worldwide legal service deployment. The United States has emerged as the market leader in North America. In 2020, increased assignment volumes among corporate legal departments in the United States can be linked to a high share of the North America area. Because of the enormous presence of legal service providers, the United States has emerged as one of the major countries in the North American area. Furthermore, increased acquisitions and mergers in the North American region are projected to increase demand for legal services.

Additionally, the rise of the European legal services market during the forecast period between 2022 and 2032 can be attributed to a significant number of law professionals providing legal services to customers in countries such as Spain. Aside from that, a large number of law firms in countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany are outsourcing their legal services to countries such as India and the Philippines in order to avoid incurring huge costs on legal services, which will propel market growth in the continent over the next decade.

On the other hand, due to the rapid adoption of regulatory and legal requirements, notably in China as well as India, Asia Pacific accounted for a substantial market share in 2020. For example, legal service providers in India have begun to offer sophisticated cross-border court services to their corporate clients, creating significant development potential for the nation. Service providers like Venable LLP, Baker & McKenzie, and Allen & Overy LLP have also joined the Indian market, which is projected to enhance the market growth in the area in the future years.

Countries CAGR (2022 to 2032)
United States of America 4.5%
United Kingdom 4.4%
China 4.3%
Japan 4.2%
India 4.3%

Which are the Most Significant Players in the Global Legal Services Market?

Market participants are focused on increasing their consumer base and gaining a competitive advantage over their competitors. They are carrying out a number of strategic activities, including collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, and the creation of new products and technologies. Among the main participants in the global legal services industry are:

  • Baker & McKenzie
  • Clifford Chance LLP
  • Deloitte
  • DLA Piper
  • Ernst & Young (E&Y)
  • Kirkland & Ellis LLP
  • KPMG
  • LATHAM & WATKINS LLP
  • PwC
  • Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Recent key developments among players are:

In November 2021, Clifford Chance LLP joined Green Map System, Inc., an independent non-profit organization to provide support and advice on the design and execution of the International Guarantee Trust Fund initiative to promote large-scale renewable energy installations.

  • In November 2021, EY announced the acquisition of TAO Leadership Development Inc., a consultancy focused on supporting fast-paced cultural change and organizational transformation in organizations. The purchase sought to accelerate the growth of EY People Advisory Services by boosting the firm's well-known technology-enabled transformational leadership and culture change capabilities.
  • In July 2022, the Uttar Pradesh government agreed on Tuesday to hire Deloitte India as a consultant to develop strategies for growing the state's GDP to USD 1 trillion.
  • In July 2022, Kirkland & Ellis advised I Squared Capital, a leading global infrastructure investment manager, and its ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund III on a definitive agreement to acquire VLS Environmental Solutions ("VLS") from Aurora Capital Partners, a leading middle-market private equity firm, in connection with the acquisition. In North America, VLS delivers mission-critical, specialized trash and specialty cleaning and repair services to a range of highly regulated sectors. The transaction's financial specifics were not disclosed.

Report Scope

Report Attributes Details
Growth Rate 4.6% CAGR from 2022 to 2032
Market Value in 2022 USD 400 Billion
Market Value in 2032 USD 627.12 Billion
Base Year for Estimation 2021
Historical Data 2017 to 2021
Forecast Period 2022 to 2032
Quantitative Units Revenue in USD Million and CAGR from 2022 to 2032
Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Company Ranking, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, Trends, and Pricing Analysis
Segments Covered Service Type, Firm Size, Provider, Region
Regions Covered North America; Latin America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Middle East and Africa
Key Countries Profiled United States of America, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, GCC Countries, South Africa, Israel

Key Segments Covered in the Legal Services Industry Survey

By Service Type:

  • Taxation
  • Real Estate
  • Litigation
  • Bankruptcy
  • Labor/Employment
  • Corporate

By Firm Size:

  • Large
  • Medium
  • Small

By Provider:

  • Private Practicing Attorneys
  • Legal Business Firms
  • Government Departments
  • Other Providers

By Region:

  • North America
  • Europe
  • Asia Pacific
  • Latin America
  • Middle East & Africa

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the estimated market value of the global legal services market?

The global Legal Services market is estimated at USD 400 Billion in 2022

What is the anticipated value of the global legal services market during the forecast period?

The global legal services market is estimated at USD 627.12 Billion by 2032

What is the projected CAGR of the global legal services market from 2022 to 2032?

The global legal services market is forecasted to expand at a 4.6% growth rate till 2032

What is the market size of the legal services in the USA?

The USA market is anticipated to exhibit a 4.5% CAGR from 2022 to 2032

What is the Indian market size of the global Legal Services market?

India is projected to garner a 4.3% CAGR during the forecast period

What is the anticipated CAGR of the corporate segment during the forecast period?

The corporate segment is likely to expand at 4.5% CAGR in the forecast period.

Table of Content
	1. Executive Summary | Legal Services Market
	2. Market Overview
	3. Market Background
	4. Global Market Analysis 2017 to 2021 and Forecast, 2022 to 2032
	5. Global Market Analysis 2017 to 2021 and Forecast 2022 to 2032, By Services
		5.1. Taxation
		5.2. Real Estate
		5.3. Litigation
		5.4. Bankruptcy
		5.5. Labor/Employment
		5.6. Corporate
	6. Global Market Analysis 2017 to 2021 and Forecast 2022 to 2032, By Firm Size
		6.1. Large Firms
		6.2. Medium Firms
		6.3. Small Firms
	7. Global Market Analysis 2017 to 2021 and Forecast 2022 to 2032, By Provider
		7.1. Private Practicing Attorneys
		7.2. Legal Business Firms
		7.3. Government Departments
	8. Global Market Analysis 2017 to 2021 and Forecast 2022 to 2032, By Region
		8.1. North America
		8.2. Latin America
		8.3. Europe
		8.4. Asia Pacific
		8.5. Middle East and Africa
	9. North America Market Analysis 2017 to 2021 and Forecast 2022 to 2032, By Country
	10. Latin America Market Analysis 2017 to 2021 and Forecast 2022 to 2032, By Country
	11. Europe Market Analysis 2017 to 2021 and Forecast 2022 to 2032, By Country
	12. Asia Pacific Market Analysis 2017 to 2021 and Forecast 2022 to 2032, By Country
	13. Middle East and Africa Market Analysis 2017 to 2021 and Forecast 2022 to 2032, By Country
	14. Key Countries Market Analysis
	15. Market Structure Analysis
	16. Competition Analysis
		16.1. Baker & McKenzie
		16.2. Clifford Chance LLP
		16.3. Deloitte
		16.4. DLA Piper
		16.5. Ernst & Young (E&Y)
		16.6. Kirkland & Ellis LLP
		16.7. KPMG
		16.8. Latham & Watkins LLP
		16.9. PwC
		16.10. Skadden
	17. Assumptions & Acronyms Used
	18. Research Methodology
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