Nearly one in two lawyers expect profit per equity partner to grow by up to 10% in the next year, according to a NatWest survey of 400 lawyers attending the annual NatWest Legal Conference series across the UK in October. More than half expected fee income to rise by up to 10% in the next year, and a quarter expected an even bigger rise of between 10% and 20%. Steve Arundale, head of professionals at NatWest, says: “The optimism could be down to the uplift in the economy which has stimulated an increase in transactions.”