Despite how bleak the legal market appeared in the early days of the global pandemic; it has shown to be quite resilient. Demand for legal services touched record year-over-year levels in the third quarter of 2021, allowing law firms to boost their fees, while productivity levels reached their greatest third-quarter levels in three years.

Market confidence is at its highest level in the recent decade. According to Reuters (Dec-21), 40% of corporate clients worldwide foresee a rise in legal spending in the coming year, while only 20% expect a decline. This is the highest percentage of respondents expecting an increase and the lowest percentage expecting a reduction in the last ten years.

As more local and national governments around the world begin to adjust their regulatory requirements to better deal with the lingering problems of the pandemic and some compliance issues — such as those involving government fraud and illicit financial schemes —industry experts believe that helping corporate clients manage regulatory uncertainty will be a key growth area for 2022. A rise in regulation related to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues is also expected.

The expected rise in regulatory issues is reflected in legal spending projections made by corporate clients, with the regulatory practice area predicted to be the fastest growing in 2022, according to Reuters.