Legal Economics

Firm Financials & Demand

UK legal buyers are moving from demand growth to demand selectivity

Thomson Reuters Institute’s new UK market report says client demand remains steady, but external legal spend expectations have cooled and UK legal buyers are more cautious than at any point in the last five years.

BY ECONOMICS DESK · MAY 21, 2026 · 1 MIN READ

Thomson Reuters Institute’s new UK market report says client demand remains steady, but external legal spend expectations have cooled and UK legal buyers are more cautious than at any point in the last five years. Net spend anticipation has fallen to +5 percentage points, which makes this a strategy story rather than just a rates story: firms need to prove business understanding, not merely legal expertise.

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