Legal Services Act
ABS licence will give PwC Legal “rocket fuel”, says UK chief
PwC Legal’s alternative business structure (ABS) licence will give its expansion plans “rocket fuel”, its UK senior partner has claimed. Speaking to Legal Futures, senior partner Shirley Brookes agreed with those describing the move as a ‘game changer’.
M&A on the up among mid-sized firms, says survey, as Manchester firm faces administration
More mergers and acquisitions among mid-sized law firms are starting to happen, new research has indicated, on the day that well-known Manchester firm Linder Myers filed its intention to appoint administrators ahead of a possible sale or merger.
High Court quashes “irrational” LeO decision against barrister but upholds record SDT fine
A High Court judge has overturned a Legal Ombudsman decision that a barrister had not earned his fee, but separately upheld a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal decision to hand out a record fine.
Kenny: reviving self-regulation would see a return to the bad old days
Resurrecting self-regulation of lawyers – as the Law Society and Bar Council are urging the government to do – would be “an obstacle to progress” for legal services providers and consumers alike, the Legal Services Board has warned.
Parabis hires Jabbari to create regional firm network in support of consumer law ABSs
Alternative business structure Parabis Group is to create a branded franchise network of regional law firms to support its consumer law offering, after hiring former Connect2Law chief David Jabbari, Legal Futures can reveal.
SRA: hundreds of companies, public authorities and law centres mulling ABS conversion
The impact of alternative business structures (ABSs) on organisations with in-house lawyers is likely to be felt most in the third sector, major new research has found – but hundreds of private companies and public authorities are looking at conversion too.
Senior City lawyer becomes ABS but faces MDP dilemma
The former head of construction at City giant Norton Rose has turned his legal consultancy into an alternative business structure, but has had difficulty finding a non-lawyer professional partner of similar standing to link up with.
Blue-chip wealth adviser becomes ABS and predicts global take-up
The chief executive of a blue-chip global wealth adviser that administers £200bn of assets has predicted alternative business structures are a reform of law firm ownership that other countries will have to adopt – having just secured a licence itself.
Unprecedented consolidation, ABSs and only the global or niche surviving – Knowles surveys future
Commercial law firms that think a recovering economy will save them from the imminent and major consolidation of the market are “deluding themselves”, Sir Nigel Knowles has warned. The trends in the legal market – including ABSs – will render many firms’ business models as obsolete.
SRA imposes conditions on PwC and Direct Line’s ABS licences
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has hedged the award of alternative business structure (ABS) licences to accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers and insurer Direct Line Group with a host of conditions, it has emerged.
Blog
The AI question law firms should answer before a client asks it
Most law firms we speak to are already using AI, whether or not they have approved it, because fee-earners are doing it anyway. The tool people settle on is often Claude.
From chat to Cowork: preparing your law firm for agentic AI
AI is evolving quickly. For law firms still working out how to get consistent value from the tools they already have, the conversation has moved on again to agentic AI.
Why good governance matters when managing Law Society forms
Everyday legal transactions rely on Law Society forms. But they are often treated as static templates rather than what they really are: living documents that change over time.
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