Small firms engulfed

The number of small law firms in the West Midlands will drop by more than one-third in the next five years as they are swallowed by larger practices, a leading solicitor in the region predicts.

Making his Darwinian forecast at the opening of Alsters' new Nuneaton office - which follows its merger with three-partner RS Bull & Co - managing partner Stephen Swindle said smaller firms' downfall will come about because they cannot keep up with IT costs.Mr Swindle said law firms are increasingly acting for large clients and dealing with vast organisations like the Legal Services Commission and the Land Registry.'One thing all these bodies have in common is that they now seem to prefer to deal with a smaller number of larger firms, where computer systems are the key to efficiency and economy,' he explained.

Mr Swindle said smaller firms will also be hit hard by e-conveyancing and legal aid reforms.'It's inevitable that mergers are going to happen now,' Mr Swindle cautioned later.

'Law firms are businesses like any other, and we are seeing all kinds of small businesses die out and merge with others.'But Coventry sole practitioner and conveyancer Anthony Stockton said the government's commitment to 'paperless offices' will help small firms become more streamlined.However, he conceded that Mr Swindle was 'probably right' about small firms with fingers in a lot of pies being taken over by larger rivals.

'Where firms traditionally dabble in all kinds of work, they are going to find it tough,' Mr Stockton warned.

Paula Rohan