Strong demand for corporate dispute, energy transition and infrastructure advice has created a two-speed legal market with smaller firms growing partner ranks while larger firms become more cautious about expansion.

The number of partners in the first-half edition of The Australian Financial Review Law Partnership Survey rose by 50 in the six months to July, up 1 per cent. There were 83 more partners than this time last year at firms with comparable data, an increase of around 2 per cent.