City’s legal eagles are brought low by austerity

Des Hudson said that Leeds remained the largest legal centre outside London but said Yorkshire’s high street firms were taking time to recover from the recession with the impact of public spending cuts felt more strongly across the North.

He told the Yorkshire Post: “Leeds is a very important legal market in England and Wales. It is still the second largest legal centre. People in Birmingham might disagree but I think Leeds is (nationally) the number two still.

“All firms have taken a hit since the 2008 recession – billing, income and employment have fallen. We are seeing the corporate sector beginning to stabilise... but if you are looking at high street firms, that continues to be an area of concern.”

Mr Hudson, who was born in Halifax and who studied at the University of Leeds, also said family work funded by legal aid and litigation work had “dipped”.

“The prospects for that sort of work are very uncertain. I see Leeds as the bellwether for the rest of the country. The further you go from London then you begin to see the strength of the cutbacks to the public sector.

“The number of people facing redundancy from private practice or local authorities is pretty high compared to what we see in London. Leeds is closer to London but I don’t think it is immune. I think we will see the cuts cutting a bit deeper towards the end of the year.”

Plans to cut the £2.2bn-a-year legal aid budget by £350m are expected to cost 500,000 instances of legal assistance and 45,000 representations each year, according to the House of Commons Justice Select Committee. The Law Society has warned that cuts will affect vulnerable members of society and launched a campaign to put pressure on the Government to reconsider its planned reforms.

Mr Hudson, who was speaking at the Leeds offices of law firm Beachcroft, also warned there were some “quality issues” over the introduction of so-called Tesco law later this year, which will allow insurance companies and larger retail brands to provide legal services.

The changes contained in the Legal Services Act will provide more competition for traditional law firms but could mean “claims farmers” moving into the sector, he said.