Industry scope & market sizes
Commercial legal services in this report refer to transaction, regulatory and dispute work arising from companies’, investors’ and lenders’ business activities and commercial arrangements. The scope of the legal work includes providing counsel on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), project finance, capital market engagements and commercial litigation and arbitration.
The global legal services market was estimated at roughly $1.1 trillion in 2024, with North America as the largest regional market, Western Europe as the second-largest, and Asia-Pacific as the fastest-growing but still smaller in absolute terms. The size of the commercial and corporate legal services industry was estimated at $330 billion in 2024. In the United States, the corporate legal market is dominated by large firms that bill premium hourly rates and retainers.
Recent surveys show that partner hourly rates at top United States firms commonly fall between about $900 and $1,500 per hour, with senior partners in high-value practices often
