Why are 100 partners required by commercial practices throughout the north? The answer is a combination of factors, partly it is the knock-on effect of the drift northwards of City lawyers over the past ten years.

It is also due to the added refinement in the provision of legal services, the pattern of change in legal instructions and loc alised regional recovery.

Life was so hard we had to eat hot gravel.' 'Luxury, you had hot gravel!'Recently overheard in a Leeds wine bar frequented by Park Square lawyers was a 1990s version of the Monty Python sketch where flat-capped, flat vowelled characters outbid each other as to the relative hardships of life in the north of England.

Today the participants wear Armani suits and the accents will be those of Harrow and Harrogate.'We did 17 MBOs last year.' 'That's nothing! We did 20 MBOs before breakfast and still had enough energy to do a flotation before lunch!' The knock-on effect of the recruitment of lawyers from the City has gathered momentum.

There is now a greater depth of specialist experience available which has encouraged clients to turn to local regional firms.

The drift of ex-City lawyers has been continued for a number of years, but it is only fairly recently that this group of lawyers has reached a maturity and depth that of itself attracts instructions from clients now confident that their needs can be serviced.

These clients benefit from lower fees and a perceived higher level of service.

At a recent meeting the head of legal at an important plc commented to me that, since moving instructions from a City firm to a leading Manchester practice, the firm has benefited by being 'a sixth largest client rather than being the 60th largest'.

The impact of City lawyers has also had a positive effect in that the culture and training within many commercial firms in the north is now along very similar lines to that of City practices.During the past couple of years there has been a cultural and structural change within many successful northern commercial firms.

The hitherto rather bland face of the major regional practice has taken on a sharper and more focused image with the development of specialist units and client driven teams.

New niche areas of practice have developed including such specialist sectors as sports, media and entertainment and IT.

Coupled with this is the re-structuring of certain departments and the establishment of multi-disciplinary teams including sectors such as health care, (prompted especially by CCT), building society and transport law.

These specialist units and multi-disciplinary teams have also resulted in the emergence of new highly specialised firms, often formed as a break-away from a larger practice unable to react quickly enough to a new client culture and more sophisticated demands, or the rationalisation of local authority and in-house departments.

Instructing clients are not so tied to the idea of a one-stop legal service.The pattern of change of legal instructions has also benefited the north.

The impact of CCT, the effects of the Cadbury report, the regionalisation of some in-house legal work and the ever present pressure of costs has led to increased levels and new sources of commercial activity.

More and more work is being retained in the provinces, added to which a certain amount of work is now being wooed away from the City.

It is now accepted practice for FT500 firms to instruct provincial practices and, with this in mind, a number of City firms have established successful northern offices, such as Masons and Nabarro Nathanson, or have developed a joint venture relationship such as Aaron Freedmans.There are certain areas of the north that have experienced tangible commercial expansion.

Areas such as Liverpool and the north-east have not only experienced organic growth but have also greatly benefited from development agencies and EU funding.

Often a provision in such f unding is the instruction of local firms.

Overall, the north was not hit as hard as the south by recession, and there was not as far to fall.

However, the north still benefits from the recovery making it more economically attractive.The growth of northern legal practices is only limited by their ability to attract the best specialist lawyers.

The market is active but although the number of lawyers required may be increasing the emphasis is on quality rather than quantity.1995