It is now apparent that most economies had dipped into slight recession before 11 September. Now, with many industries under siege worldwide, the only questions left are which sectors will be hit hardest, how long will it last and who is going to go bust?
Unfortunately, the legal profession is not recession-proof: the downturn in M&A activity has already affected many City firms and the more gloomy professional observers are already predicting waves of redundancies as legal partnerships struggle to remain solvent in the midst of difficult trading conditions. Certainly, there has been a marked increase in strategic or defensive mergers in recent weeks.
