For many international firms, the Gulf is now a core growth pillar, but rising geopolitical tension is testing that position. Investment pipelines have widened; firms must now demonstrate long-term commitment in the face of sustained volatility.

DWF’s 2023 take-private by Inflexion was heralded as a step-change for private equity investment into the legal profession. The firm is stronger today, but few Big Law partnerships are likely to follow its path from LLP to corporate structure, and fewer investors have the appetite to support such a transition. DWF remains an outlier. For Big Law, it is a question of incompatibility and timing — a case of ‘it’s not you, it’s us’.

Headline growth masks tightening margins and constrained capital. For many Independent firms, efficiency is now doing the work that investment once did. This analysis draws on Companies House filings from five firms to examine how they are navigating the cash squeeze.

The UK’s largest litigation practices increased collective revenue by over 50% in the past five years, while partnership headcount has surged by more than 75%. The disputes practice is now a core engine of firmwide growth — and leadership must decide how far to lean into it.

Disputes practices are becoming engines of growth but geostrategy, talent and court power shifts are rewriting the rules for UK firms.