LEAP Legal Software’s Profitability in Law: Global Report 2026 draws on insights from 700 legal practitioners across three regions: the United States and Canada (US/CA), the United Kingdom and Ireland (UK/IE), and Australia and New Zealand (AU/NZ) to identify law firms’ strategies and top investment priorities to increase profitability.
Conducted by Agile Market Intelligence, the report reveals that firms are increasingly focused on people and tools as key levers for growth, with compensation, professional development, and technology emerging as the top 3 global investment priorities.
Key stats you need to know
- Compensation, professional development, and workflow automation are the global top 3 investment priorities among legal firms.
- More than 1 in 2 firms (53 per cent) prioritise investment in competitive salaries and compensation.
- More than half (55 per cent) of AU/NZ firms have invested in flexible work arrangements, the highest proportion of any region surveyed.
- Thirty-nine per cent of firms believe investing in technology can boost profitability, but only 34 per cent have already done so.
Firms view pay, training, and technology as top 3 investment priorities to boost profits
- More than half (53 per cent) of firms rank compensation among their top 3 investment levers to increase profitability, while 38 per cent rank it as the number-one priority.
- AU/NZ firms place greater emphasis on pay, with 44 per cent citing compensation as their top priority, higher than the US/CA (39 per cent) and UK/IE (32 per cent).
Fewer AU/NZ firms prioritise professional development (9 per cent versus. 14 per cent in the US/CA and 23 per cent in the UK/IE) and technology (8 per cent, versus 16 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. Globally, compensation stands out as a core profitability lever, ranking among the top 3 investment priorities for more than half (53 per cent) of firms, with 38 per cent placing it at the top. This is particularly pronounced in AU/NZ, where 44 per cent of firms identify pay as their primary investment focus, ahead of e US/CA (39 per cent) and the UK/IE (32 per cent).
Competitive compensation is followed by professional development and technology, cited by 46 per cent and 39 per cent of firms, respectively. Investments in mental health and flexible work arrangements complete the top five priorities, at 28 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively.
As one partner at an AU firm noted, “Focus on your staff first. Their well-being is the top priority for creating a healthy and sustainable business. The profits will flow from that.”
While AU/NZ firms focus on pay, they appear less inclined to prioritise investments in professional development (9 per cent) and technology (8 per cent) than their peers in US/CA (14 per cent and 16 per cent), and UK/IE (23 per cent and 10 per cent), even though these areas still rank among the region’s top three investment priorities.
“As competitive pay continues to play a key role in attracting and retaining talent, firms have an opportunity to further strengthen performance by investing in training and technology,” said Michael Johnson, Director at Agile Market Intelligence.
“In AU/NZ, where pay is a clear priority, increasing focus on capability building and digital enablement can unlock additional gains in productivity and scalability.”
AU/NZ firms outpace global peers in flexible work adoption
- Globally, almost 1 in 2 firms (45 per cent) have invested in and provided flexible work arrangements to their employees, followed by competitive salaries and training at 42 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively.
- Roughly 1 in 3 firms (34 per cent) globally have rolled out technology and tool improvements.
- AU/NZ firms lead in flexible work arrangements, with 55 per cent already implementing them in the region.
When it comes to execution, flexible work arrangements stand out as the most widely adopted initiative, with nearly half (45 per cent) of firms globally already offering them. AU/NZ firms lead globally, with adoption at 55 per cent.
Firms are largely following through on their stated priorities, with competitive salaries (42 per cent) and training (40 per cent) also showing strong implementation, albeit slightly underindexed compared to their investment priority of 53 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively
As 39 per cent of firms identify technology and tool improvements as an investment priority, implementation has also already materialised for 34 per cent of firms globally.
Investments in mental health and wellbeing have been rolled out by 33 per cent of firms, suggesting growing recognition of employee support as critical to sustainable operations.
“It’s encouraging to see firms following through on flexible work, particularly in AU/NZ, where adoption is leading globally,” Michael Johnson noted.
“The next step is ensuring that investments in technology and capability keep pace, so firms can fully realise the productivity and performance benefits of a more flexible workforce.”
About the research
LEAP Legal Software’s Profitability in Law: Global Report 2026 is based on quantitative research conducted by Agile Market Intelligence, drawing on the views of 700 legal professionals across Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, and Canada, collected between 10 and 28 November 2025. The report outlines how strategy, people, technology and AI drive profitability in legal practice, with data-driven recommendations on how to close the gap between profitability potential and execution.
You can download the report here.
