In the recent issue of Legal Abacus, Totum’s Director of Finance Practice Martyn Draper provides an update on how the legal finance function is evolving and the opportunities emerging as a result. All data and statistics discussed can be found in our Totum Pricing Report 2025.

Pricing is emerging as a strategic, client-facing function that is pivotal in shaping a firm’s commercial success. Totum’s Director of Finance Practice Martyn Draper reveals findings from the recruiter’s third pricing report, detailing how the function is evolving and the future skills pricing professionals will need.

Totum first launched its pricing report back in 2018. Then, pricing teams were beginning to grow in headcount, moving beyond being a back-office function into one of real strategic significance with an increased client and commercial focus.

This has continued to be the case as our 2025 iteration shows. Between 2018 and 2022, the average headcount of pricing teams doubled from four to seven. This year, an equal number of firms report having between 4-6 employees (31%) and 7-9 (31%).

As teams have grown, so has the remit and specialised knowledge they offer. More than two-thirds of pricing team members (69%) are now in pricing specific roles, with just 24% having a combined remit, a significant change from our 2022 survey which reported a much more even split. Larger pricing teams means more specific roles something we expect to see continue in the future, with fewer generalist positions and more specialised expertise.

As the function has matured, so have career development opportunities and promotion pathways. Nearly three-quarters (69%) of pricing leaders report structured career pathways for team members, up from 54% in 2022, and promotions now occur most frequently after two years’ tenure, suggesting an increasing maturity and stability in a function that has seen rapid growth in recent years.

This growth has coincided with a period of transformation for many firms. Consequently, it’s no surprise that the skillset of a pricing professional has also evolved. Where once the function was about technical skills, financial modelling and data analysis, the modern pricing professional is expected to also bring softer, more emotionally intelligent skills into play too.

Future skillsets

We asked our survey respondents to detail the skills and capabilities they believed would be most crucial to the future success of pricing teams. Unsurprisingly, commercial and strategic thinking (91%) was the most in demand skill, followed by internal relationship management (56%), the ability to engage and work with clients (50%) and entrepreneurialism to innovate pricing models (44%).

These findings point to a function that is as much about relationship building and influencing as it is numbers and calculations. As one of our pricing leader interviews puts it in our report: “Modern pricing is both an art and a science.”

Of course, finding these skillsets can be a challenge, particularly after a period of intense recruitment in the sector. And while our report points to a stabilisation in pricing recruitment in the coming year, those firms that do look to hire are increasingly looking outside the legal sector for new recruits.

Back in 2022, 61% of survey respondents had recruited a pricing professional from outside of legal. This year, that percentage has grown to 74%. Firms are recruiting more frequently from the Big Four, with 63% doing so in 2025 compared with 28% in 2022.

Both these statistics mirror what Totum sees in the market. With a finite amount of pricing talent in the legal sector, it’s no surprise firms are looking outside the market – particularly at the junior end – for talent that they can train up on sector specific knowledge. In addition, attrition rates at the Big Four have been growing. The cross-over in knowledge and work between legal and consultancies means a move between sectors for pricing professionals is a logical choice.

Impact of AI

One new area we looked at in this report was the impact of artificial intelligence and technology on the sector. More than half (53%) of our survey participants say they are witnessing artificial intelligence and predictive analytics having an impact on pricing, with 59% seeing an increased emphasis on data driven decision-making and 69% believing that the integration of technology for pricing optimisation is a future trend.

However, just 13% are currently using artificial intelligence to analyse pricing data with the vast majority (64%) planning on implementing AI in the next 6-24 months.

When asked about using technology and automated workflows for pricing approvals, compliance and adjustments, a similar figure (19%) said they were already doing so. However, 6% of respondents said they would not consider using AI for checks and approvals, suggesting the need for a final human sign-off in these areas. As with so much of the rhetoric around technology, many firms are seemingly aware of and monitoring potential AI innovations, but few are finding actionable interventions.

Our 2025 Pricing Report points to a maturing, strategically important function that requires commercially astute, emotionally intelligent professionals. With a remit that often goes way beyond traditional pricing work, the future of the function is commercial, client facing and collaborative. These are exciting times for pricing professionals.

To read Legal Abacus October/November 2025 in full, click here.

To learn more about the future of pricing teams, read Totum’s 2025 Pricing Report in full here.

To discuss the research featured in this article, or to explore opportunities for your next Pricing role or recruitment within your Pricing team, contact [email protected]