Cost of living crisis: UK lawyers braced for talent war and surge in fraud cases

In-house lawyers expect they will be forced to deal with the fallout of the UK’s cost-of-living crisis as the economic downturn sets in, the report from Kingsley Napley says.

The survey of 50 in-house lawyers showed 75 per cent expect an uptick in disputes work over the next 12-24 months, while 68 per cent anticipate an increase in debt recovery work.

At the same time, almost half (49 per cent) of in-house lawyers surveyed said they are anticipating an increase in fraud cases, while 46 per cent said they are expecting to deal with more employment disputes.   

“The consensus amongst in-house lawyers is that this will lead to an increase in levels of fraud, legal disputes and battles to recover debts, regardless of the sector in which a company operates,” Kingsley Napley’s head of criminal litigation and investigations, Louise Hodges, said.  

However, in-house lawyers also expect the current crisis will have a detrimental impact on their own operations, as rising prices stretch legal department budgets and drive employee churn.

The survey showed 60 per cent of in-house lawyers expect inflationary pressures will strain their department’s budget.

A further 81 per cent of in-house lawyers surveyed said they expect the cost-of-living crisis will create more “people challenges” as staff seek out higher salaries in their efforts to deal with rising costs.