How Private Equity is Letting Smaller Firms Leave BigLaw Behind”

While the UK’s top 50 law firms have been billing their way to respectable growth, their PE-backed cousins are sprinting ahead like they’ve discovered legal practice’s secret turbo button.

New research from Hazlewoods reveals that private equity-powered firms have doubled the growth rate of their traditional competitors—posting a 30 percent revenue surge compared to BigLaw’s mere 15 percent over the past two years.

The 12 PE darlings grew their revenue to £780m, while the top 50 reached £24.2bn. It’s the growth trajectory that has everyone’s attention faster than a partner spots a billing opportunity2.

Private equity apparently saw what many missed: a fragmented legal landscape ripe for the “buy and build” treatment. PE players have been quietly assembling legal Voltrons through strategic acquisitions like Lawfront’s recent addition of Wigan-based Alker Ball Healds—their second acquisition since joining forces with Blixt-backed Lawfront in 2022.

“PE firms are delivering faster growth than the very biggest firms,” notes Andy Harris, Hazlewoods partner, who insists they’re taking a “careful approach” rather than disrupting the industry like a 1L at moot court.

The strategy makes sense: merge smaller firms, extend services, expand geographically, and trim those back-office costs faster than associates clear timesheets on the last day of the month.

With UK legal sector PE investment hitting a record £534m in 2024—up 42 percent from 2023—the buyout bonanza shows no signs of slowing.

For firm partners eyeing an exit strategy, this might be a small price to pay for a PE payday that doesn’t require billing 3,000 hours a year.

Though Professor Laura Empson warns partners are “submitting themselves to a far greater degree of scrutiny and control” than before.

The AI revolution adds another dimension to PE appeal, with firms suddenly needing capital for tech investments that exceed what you can raise by passing the hat at partnership meetings.