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“People often say we will end up with huge hypermarkets and corner shops but nothing in between," he says. "I’m not sure that’s right. There is a place for a healthy mid-tier of firms that are focused in what they do and have something different to offer.”

Regardless of their size, Morley believes the vast majority of firms will continue to be run and owned as partnerships.

“Reports of the death of partnership have been greatly exaggerated. I see no reason why alternative structures can't work, but I don’t think partnership is going to disappear overnight because it still has a lot of strengths.”

He is equally sceptical about the possibility of firms seeking outside financing. “People have got a bit carried away with the riches to be made from IPOs," he says. "Most partners realise that you don’t get money for nothing. Accepting outside money will mean having to give up a degree of control, but lawyers want to be masters of their own destiny.”

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Even if lawyers are tempted to float – and he predicts some will be – they will also have to consider whether it is best for their clients. Control, he says, is not just an issue for lawyers.

“Clients don’t want a lawyer who is essentially under the control of someone else. They want somebody independently minded, objective and professional.”

Accepting outside investment, he says, would raises serious doubts about a firm’s ability to provide that.

Morley says Allen & Overy has already turned away offers of money with no strings attached, as the firm can easily fund itself or borrow cheaply from the bank if it needs to.

On the role of lawyers, Morley is sceptical of the idea that they will become obsolete as their work becomes increasingly commoditised.

“There is often a confusion between standardisation and commoditisation," he says. "Commoditisation implies that essentially we will reach a point where clients can do the work themselves without any intervention from a lawyer.”

While that may be true of certain kinds of work, he says it will never happen at the “high end”, where there is permanent demand from clients who are “crying out” for the best advice.

On the other hand, for all his faith in the skill and judgment of experienced lawyers, Morley is aware that forces are at work within the profession that will “streamline processes and make us more efficient”.

It is these, mainly technology-driven changes that he defines as “standardisation.”

“Standardisation is where you improve a process such as due diligence," he says. "But it doesn’t necessarily mean you make it simple."

“Lawyers have an irrational fear of commoditisation which is based on a misunderstanding. People talk about legal services being commoditised but they mean standardised”.

But instead of being afraid, Morley argues that lawyers should embrace standardisation, as it will make their lives easier and take some of the "drudgery" out of the work.

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