Law firms are ‘bucking the recessionary trend’ and proving particularly resilient to the current economic climate, research has suggested.

Two in five law firms increased their turnover last year, according to a survey of 69 firms conducted by accountants BDO Stoy Hayward.

Only 15% of firms saw a drop in revenues of more than 10% over the past year, the research found, and more than three-quarters said they felt ‘confident’ about the year ahead.

The study indicated that there will be greater job security in the profession over the coming year. Almost three-quarters of firms said they plan to make no redundancies, while 26% said they planned to lay off up to 5% of their staff.

Nick Carter-Pegg, head of professional services at BDO, said: ‘The outlook for professional services firms, and in particular the legal sector, is generally positive, which is at odds with the low levels of confidence in other sectors.

‘There is a huge amount of change coming in the legal sector with the full implementation of the Legal Services Act in October 2011, but at least firms are now facing the future with confidence.

‘However, for most firms "business as usual" going forward will just not be enough. All firms should take this opportunity to rework their strategy so that they are well positioned for the changes next year.’