Market monitor

One of the country’s biggest independent firms of will-writers has followed the example set by law firms like Stephens Scown and Gateley and introduced employee ownership in a multi-million pound deal with its previous owners.

The chairman of the Conveyancing Association has called on the government to create a new portal to help fill the void left by the collapse of Veyo. Eddie Goldsmith said conveyancing consumers suffered from a “lack of knowledge” about the process and he would like to see a “government initiative” to create an information portal.

AIM-listed law firm Gateley is keen to explore acquisitions of further non-legal businesses, it said yesterday as it announced that the revenue in the six months to the end of October was up by almost 19% on the same period last year. It has also poured millions of shares into an incentive scheme for partners.

The founders of an alternative business structure which helps insolvency practitioners to process mis-selling claims against financial institutions have now launched a litigation fund. It is being bankrolled by Steve Clark, founder of investment management company Omni Partners.

A central London law firm has launched a fixed-fee family arbitration service in a bid to slash what it says is now an average £70,000 cost for divorcing people to reach a financial settlement. It comes as research shows those who have been through a divorce are less likely than the average to see lawyers as truthful.

Law firms are unnecessarily afraid of operating on fixed fees, and need to take a more commercial approach to how they market and price their services, according to the solicitor who created The Law Superstore. He said he had also found that firms do not monitor how much work their marketing generates.

National Accident Helpline is to invest £1.7m over the next year so as to accelerate changes to its operating model that will enable it to respond to the government’s proposed personal injury reforms. NAH’s profits will be hit in the short term and its share price took a significant hit as a result.

Slater & Gordon has overcome the first hurdle in its bid to recover some of the money it paid for Quindell’s professional services division last year, after an independent barrister said its claim had merit. The Australian-listed firm began legal action in September.

QualitySolicitors is set to launch a new expansion drive in a bid to double the number of offices in the network to 200 as it looks to capitalise on its national coverage. It recently secured one national B2B contract with a well-known name and is also working on improving the other benefits firms receive.

An alternative business structure specialising in alternative investments has acquired two non-legal businesses as part of its strategy to become “the pre-eminent advisory and infrastructure business in alternative assets”. Our round-up includes news from Gateley, Triton Global, Callan Legal, Fletchers, Dezrezlegal and Knights.