Last year the largest UK law firms were keen to brag about the latest multi-billion dollar merger or public offering they worked on. Times have changed. Over the past quarter the flow of large telecom and media deals has disappeared and the well for large initial public offerings is fast drying up. The largest UK law firms know that to sustain long-term growth, they need a steady supply of middle-market corporate deals.

Charlie Geffen, head of private equity at Ashurst Morris Crisp, summarised the position: 'Large law firms need a staple diet of middle-market deals for which they can charge roughly the same rate as the large ones.