WEDNESDAY 21st DECEMBER 2011
Business Birmingham solicits the opinion of local lawyers
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Survey to influence inward investment policy for Birmingham
Business Birmingham, the city’s inward investment programme, has launched a survey for key decision makers in the local legal sector – which will help to shape Birmingham’s proposition for the industry.
The survey aims to gauge current issues and challenges faced by the legal sector, ranging from opinions on the Legal Services Act to how firms propose to tackle any financial pressures they may be facing. By taking part in the survey, the region’s law practitioners will be able to influence the activity of Business Birmingham, which will be focusing more heavily on the legal sector in 2012.
Marek Dobrowolski, investment manager at Business Birmingham, commented:
We have received an increasing number of enquiries from law firms from across the UK that are interested in moving some functions to Birmingham. The legal sector has undergone a significant level of consolidation in the past 12 months with several mergers and acquisitions, which has led to firms considering how to make their back office more efficient and cost-effective.
Birmingham is a highly attractive destination for legal firms looking to relocate or outsource; it has a well connected transport network, skilled workforce and affordable real estate. By outsourcing parts of their business to Birmingham, firms can make use of the city’s benefits while establishing themselves in the UK’s largest regional professional and financial services sector.”
Birmingham’s vibrant legal sector already comprises more than 900 firms employing 17,000 people, including 3,500 solicitors and 500 barristers. Key local firms include Wragge & Co, Anthony Collins Solicitors, DLA Piper and Squire Sanders Hammonds – while Trowers & Hamlins has recently moved to the city and the Solicitors Regulation Authority is relocating to Birmingham in 2012. The city is also home to the UK’s largest local law society and largest branch of the College of Law.
Dobrowolski added:
We want to ensure that City law firms interested in setting up a service centre here are presented with a compelling proposition for Birmingham, and feedback from the local industry will be incredibly valuable as a way to inform this approach.
After concentrating on financial services in 2011, Business Birmingham is now growing our strategic focus to include the wider business and professional services sector – including the legal industry. Ultimately, by enticing other law firms to the city, we are aiming to raise the profile of the local sector, boosting growth and generating jobs for both experienced professionals and the talented graduates that Birmingham produces every year.”
