The legal profession really makes me wonder sometimes.
> for 50% of law firms, interest [on client money that the firms were holding temporarily] profits represented at least 21% of their profits, and for 25% of firms it represented over 35% of their profits. For up to 10% of UK law firms, interest income represented over 50% of their profits.
This is interest *on their clients' money*.
Which some law firms are taking, and using as a significant source of revenue.
How can that be right?
@neil Sinclair was a pioneer of this business model. They would take payment for a computer, buy the components, and pay the suppliers a mont after the parts arrived. They were basically selling at cost and making money from investing the float.
Since then, it’s become really common. A depressing number of businesses basically exist as vehicles for some investment thing. A few years ago, one of the big US airlines (United?) made a loss on operating flights but an overall profit because they traded fuel futures nominally to make their costs predictable, but actually made a big profit on their futures trading. Now, most airlines make money from the tie ins to their points schemes.
