Market monitor

Consumers are gradually getting more comfortable with the idea of seeking legal advice from banks and insurance companies but enthusiasm remains muted, new research has found. YouGov also showed that two major law firms are succeeding in building a consumer brand.

A record number of start-ups targeting the legal market received funding around the world last year, new research has found. It comes as City giant Allen & Overy is to nurture legal tech start-ups with the creation of an incubator.

Fairpoint Group plc – the AIM-listed business that has bought four law firms – today told investors that they would not see the benefits of its restructuring until 2018 as it warned that performance this year will drop. Its revenue from legal services revenues jumped 32% to £41.8m in 2016, but are likely to dip 15% this year.

The McKenzie Friend Marketplace, which hopes to help hundreds of law students find paid work offering legal services, has responded to criticism from practitioners by announcing that it will ban active students from providing legal advice – although they will be able to give clients other types of support.

A prominent solicitor-turned-barrister specialising in insurance litigation has set up a chambers under the oversight of the Bar Standards Board, which eventually will offer litigation in addition to advocacy. Stephen Hines is also the vice-chairman of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers.

Slater & Gordon announced another sliver of good news, with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission deciding to take no further action following an investigation into whether the firm’s accounts had been falsified. We also round up other ABS news, including a law firm created by a London corporate services business.

A second-year law student in London has launched an online ‘marketplace’ for McKenzie Friends that he hopes will be boosted by “hundreds” of fellow students taking up the opportunity to gain practical experience and offer services to the public on a paying basis.

A south Wales law firm has secured a £432,000 grant from the Welsh government to establish a global intellectual property anti-piracy business in Cardiff. The business – which will create 71 jobs by 2020 – is being spun off by CJCH Solicitors, which has expanded in recent years to include a standalone anti-piracy and compliance offering within its IP division.

NAHL plc – the legal marketing business that owns National Accident Helpline – has reported a 15% increase in profits despite a small fall in turnover in 2016 that would have been significantly larger had the non-personal injury elements of its business not performed well.

Shares in Slater & Gordon (S&G) soared overnight – albeit from an historically low base – after it told investors that its new lenders “fully intend to implement a solvent restructure of the company”. Its share price rose 46% to 13c, having dipped to an all-time low of 7c a fortnight ago.