Not in the sense that they are paid too much because they get more than the average worker; or more to the point, more than me. But in the sense of business economics. According to Professor Stephen Mayson, director of the Legal Services Policy Institute, they are and this will be detrimental when it comes to attracting external investment. The Gazette refers to extracts of a speech considering potential business models for the Legal Services Act 2007, in which Mayson said:

If you actually worked out a return to financial capital and a return to labour, they are overpaid. Nobody’s going to invest in them. Nobody’s going to give them a cheque and say, “Waltz off, retire, play golf, go yachting, do whatever you like”, because that business isn’t actually worth what it is paying its current owners.

‘The essence of this is managing for profit,’ he said. ‘Most law firms manage for turnover… Even if they can understand profit, there are too many profit-takers.’

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