Law firms are facing up to the realities of the downturn by scaling back their fee increases this year, according to the findings of this week’s Big Question.
Twenty-nine percent of the poll of senior solicitors said they expected to increase their department’s fees by between 5% and 10% this year – down from 56% in the same survey a year ago. Only 4% of respondents said they would increase the fees by more than 10%. This left 53% of the panel limiting this year’s fee increases by no more than 5% and 14%, instituting a freeze in rates.
