The survey helps firms of all sizes, from sole practitioner and high street firms to larger commercial firms, assess their financial health and how they are performing in the wider legal market.

The questionnaire allows law firms to access a full breakdown of total costs, information on cashflow as well as examine the relationships across different results, for example by plotting staff costs against profitability, to get a full understanding of their financial performance.

Alison Atack, president of the Law Society of Scotland, said: “Knowing just how your business is performing is a crucial aspect of running a successful law firm.

“It’s well worth investing the time to complete the survey as the findings help solicitors make the right strategic decisions for their business and its future development. I’d encourage all firms to take part and make the survey part of their business management toolkit.

“It also means we and the wider profession can see how the sector is performing overall. The research findings, which are completely anonymous, are also referred to by a number of stakeholders, including government and the legal aid board, and it’s important that we have a robust sample which can accurately reflect the legal services sector in Scotland. While last year showed some encouraging results, particularly for larger firms which participated, the drop in median profit for sole practitioners suggested that some of our smallest firms are continuing to struggle and it is important that we can continue to monitor any trends in the financial health of the profession.”

Email invitations to participate in this year’s survey will be sent directly to law firms’ cashroom partners from research company Tribal. All responses go to Tribal and are confidential. The survey closes on 5 April 2019.