The economic cycle mirrors a river surging and receding through periods of abundance and scarcity. After revenue stumbled in 2022, there were expectations for a robust post-pandemic recovery in 2023. This did not happen, leaving the reality that an economic downturn is upon us.
Among more than 100 law firms that disclosed financial performance data to China Business Law Journal, the median revenue for 2023 was RMB167 million (USD23.5 million). This continued a downward trend from the previous year, with a year-on-year decline of 8.2%.
Among these firms, the highest individual revenue reached RMB9.25 billion, while the minimum was RMB5 million.
Although the median growth rate slightly increased from 0.4% in 2022 to 2.8% last year, it remains far below the double-digit growth seen before 2022. An anticipated annual report from China’s Ministry of Justice on the domestic legal market has not yet been published this year, leaving a veil of uncertainty over the state of the country’s legal sector.
