UK Legal Incorporation Index
Incorporated law firms: from 22% to 59% since 2011
A sourced, data-led read on the structural shift in UK law firm ownership, drawn from Companies House incorporation records and SRA Regulated Community Statistics. Updated Jun 2026.
Key findings
- Incorporated companies account for 59% of all SRA-regulated law firms in June 2026, up from just 22% in July 2011 -- a rise of 37 percentage points in 15 years.
- The number of traditional partnerships has fallen from 3,620 (33% of all firms) in July 2010 to around 906 (10%) in June 2026. Sole practitioners have declined from 4,030 to 1,327 over the same period.
- LLPs have remained broadly stable in absolute terms -- around 1,250-1,560 firms throughout the period -- but have declined as a share from 11-12% to around 16% by count, stable in relative terms despite the overall contraction in firm numbers.
- Companies House records show 2,645 legal company incorporations in the trailing 12 months (SIC codes 69101, 69102, 69109), of which 98.5% were private limited companies. New LLP formations under these SIC codes are negligible in the CH data (law firm LLPs rarely file SIC codes on formation).
- The total number of SRA-regulated firms has contracted from around 10,885 in July 2010 to 8,916, driven mainly by the consolidation of sole practitioners and partnerships into larger incorporated practices.
Sources: Companies House (Open Government Licence v3.0) and Solicitors Regulation Authority Regulated Community Statistics (aggregate data, SRA custom licence). Figures may be cited with attribution to Accounts for Lawyers.
Legal firm incorporations by year
Each bar shows the total number of companies incorporated under SIC codes 69101, 69102 and 69109 (legal activities) in that calendar year. The series covers complete years from 2015 onwards. The January dip each year is structural (fewer working days); the trend has been broadly stable at around 2,300-2,800 per year, reflecting steady demand for the corporate form in the legal sector.
Source: Companies House Advanced Search API (Open Government Licence v3.0). Private limited companies account for approximately 98-99% of all legal incorporations; the remainder are guarantee companies, unlimited companies, and other types. Law firm LLPs are not captured here because LLPs rarely file SIC codes on formation.
Regulated firm structure: the 15-year shift
The stacked bar chart shows SRA-regulated firms each July from 2010 to 2026, split by constitution type. The crimson band (incorporated companies) has grown continuously; the grey band (traditional partnerships) and the light band (sole practitioners) have contracted. The purple band (LLPs) has remained broadly stable in absolute terms. The total number of regulated firms has fallen from around 10,885 to around 8,900, reflecting consolidation rather than sector contraction.
Source: Solicitors Regulation Authority, Regulated Community Statistics (monthly firm counts by constitution type). Published under SRA custom licence -- aggregate data only; no individual firm details. Attributed to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Annual SRA firm structure (selected years)
The table below shows SRA firm counts at July of each year (or June for 2026) for selected reference points. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number by the SRA.
| Year | Incorporated | LLP | Partnership | Sole | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2010 | 1,898 (17%) | 1,262 (11%) | 3,620 (33%) | 4,030 (37%) | 10,885 |
| Jul 2012 | 2,843 (25%) | 1,550 (14%) | 3,115 (28%) | 3,487 (31%) | 11,172 |
| Jul 2015 | 3,729 (36%) | 1,563 (15%) | 2,278 (22%) | 2,796 (27%) | 10,412 |
| Jul 2018 | 4,710 (45%) | 1,546 (15%) | 1,714 (16%) | 2,405 (23%) | 10,415 |
| Jul 2020 | 4,955 (49%) | 1,527 (15%) | 1,499 (15%) | 2,114 (21%) | 10,132 |
| Jul 2022 | 5,157 (53%) | 1,497 (15%) | 1,265 (13%) | 1,777 (18%) | 9,731 |
| Jul 2024 | 5,221 (56%) | 1,463 (16%) | 1,061 (11%) | 1,525 (16%) | 9,301 |
| Jun 2026 | 5,234 (59%) | 1,421 (16%) | 906 (10%) | 1,327 (15%) | 8,916 |
Source: Solicitors Regulation Authority, Regulated Community Statistics. Percentages are SRA-published rounded figures. Data attributed to the SRA under its custom publication licence.
Methodology and sources
Companies House data. Monthly incorporation counts come from the Companies House Advanced Search API, filtered to SIC codes 69101, 69102 and 69109 and queried month by month from January 2015. The API follows a 404-equals-zero convention for low-volume months. Each figure is the count of new companies incorporated in that calendar month; dissolutions and active-company counts are not included. Company types are dominated by private limited companies (company_type=ltd), which account for around 98-99% of monthly totals.
LLP limitation. Law firm LLPs rarely file SIC codes at Companies House on formation, so filtering by SIC code + LLP company type returns zero (or near-zero) results in almost all monthly windows. The CH series therefore reflects limited-company incorporations only. The LLP structure trend is covered by SRA data.
SRA data. Firm structure counts come from the SRA's monthly Regulated Community Statistics, which count all recognised bodies, recognised sole practices, and licensed bodies by constitution type. The data is published under the SRA's own licence; this page presents aggregate totals and trends only, in line with the permitted use for commentary and analysis. No individual firm details are included. Formation and closure dates may be backdated, so figures are subject to revision.
- Companies House Advanced Search API (Companies House (Crown copyright))
- SRA Regulated Community Statistics: Solicitor Firms (Solicitors Regulation Authority)
Download the monthly incorporation data (CSV)
CH data is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. SRA data published with attribution to the Solicitors Regulation Authority under its custom licence. Free to cite with attribution to Accounts for Lawyers.
Thinking about incorporating your law firm?
The structural shift is clear, but incorporation is not right for every practice. The tax saving depends on your profit level, how much you draw, and whether you retain funds in the company. Our team works exclusively with solicitors and law firms and can model both routes for your specific situation.
Frequently asked questions
Why are more law firms incorporating as limited companies?
The shift from traditional partnership and LLP structures to incorporated limited companies has been driven by several factors: flexibility in profit extraction (salary plus dividends), access to the corporate tax regime rather than income tax on drawings, the ability to bring in external investors or build a scalable equity structure, and regulatory clarity following the Legal Services Act 2007 which permitted Alternative Business Structures. Since 2011 the SRA has tracked a near-continuous rise in the share of firms operating as incorporated companies, from 22% to 59% by June 2026. At the same time, sole practitioners and traditional partnerships have contracted sharply.
What is the difference between an LLP and a limited company for a law firm?
A Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) gives partners limited liability while preserving the partnership tax treatment: each partner is taxed individually on their share of profits at income tax rates. A limited company is a separate legal entity taxed at corporation tax rates, with profits extracted via salary and dividends. The tax position of each structure depends on individual circumstances, profit levels, and whether funds are retained in the business. For many law firms the corporation tax plus dividend route has become materially more attractive as income tax rates have risen, though the analysis is sensitive to profit levels and national insurance implications.
What SIC codes are used for law firms at Companies House?
Companies House uses three SIC codes for legal activities: 69101 (Barristers at law), 69102 (Solicitors), and 69109 (Other legal activities). Firms with multiple activities may file under more than one, but most solicitor practices file under 69102. It is important to note that Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) in the legal sector often do not file SIC codes at all on formation, which is why this index uses SRA regulated-community statistics for the LLP vs incorporated comparison rather than the CH API alone.
Where does the SRA structure data come from?
The Solicitors Regulation Authority publishes monthly counts of regulated firms by constitution type -- sole practitioner, partnership, incorporated company, LLP, and other -- as part of its Regulated Community Statistics. The data goes back to July 2010 and is updated monthly. The figures count all SRA-regulated firms operating under each structure, and are subject to revision as firm openings and closures are back-dated in the register. This page uses aggregate counts and trends only; no individual firm data is presented. Data attributed to the Solicitors Regulation Authority under its custom publication licence.
Is incorporation right for my law firm?
That depends on your profit level, how much you retain in the business, your personal tax position, and whether the SRA's requirements for recognised bodies apply to your practice type. There is no universal answer: some firms benefit significantly from incorporation, others find that LLP or even sole practitioner structures remain more efficient. The right starting point is a firm-specific tax analysis that models both routes under current rates. Our team specialises in exactly this comparison for solicitors and law firms.