Virtual law firms

According to research carried out by Hazlewoods, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers, there has been a 38 per cent increase in the number of lawyers at ‘virtual’ law firms in the past year – from 1,355 in 2020 to 1,875 in 2021 – following a shift towards hybrid and flexible working during the pandemic. Virtual firms are decentralised – lawyers work remotely, are typically self-employed and use shared services provided by a central hub. Top 100 virtual firm, Keystone Law, had 456 lawyers in 2021, up from 350 in 2020.