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Exclusive: NewLaw launches second joint venture ABS with fleet management company

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Catling: broadening support to customers

Cardiff firm NewLaw Solicitors has secured its second joint venture alternative business structure (ABS) in a week after teaming up with fleet management company FMG, Legal Futures can reveal.

FMG Legal – which follows hot on the heels of NewLaw launching an ABS with insurer Ageas [2] – will allow the company to deliver legal services to its customers, including personal injury claims following non-fault incidents.

FMG already provides its customers with uninsured loss recovery services and said “this is a natural complementary extension” of that. FMG Legal will also offer its customers private client services such as wills, trusts and probate.

FMG is a leader in the fleet sector, and is the holder of the national vehicle recovery manager contract for the Highways Agency, overseeing vehicle recoveries and coordinating incident responses across the motorway and major roads network in England.

John Catling, CEO of FMG, said: “FMG has been committed to a focus on incident reduction, through a range of services including telemetry, pre-emptive maintenance and data insight. However, we recognise that incidents do happen, and when they do, companies and their employees need to be assured that any legal issues are dealt with in an efficient way, so as to lessen the impact on all involved. FMG is built on providing support for our customers and this new initiative signals our intention to broaden that support.”

“This is an innovative solution to an issue faced by businesses, who in the past, may have been unsure of who to turn to, or who they were dealing with. NewLaw are experts in personal injury claims, and have a similar customer service focus to FMG. They have great expertise in complex cases and our commitment to this venture means that the customer experience will be further improved. Our aim is to let businesses focus on running their business, and not risk being side-tracked by complex legal cases.”

NewLaw chief executive Helen Molyneux added: “FMG Legal brings together two very experienced and well-respected companies. We have worked hard to establish the right processes, which will provide a streamlined service for businesses and their drivers. We share a common focus on conducting our businesses in a fair and responsible way.

“This new initiative will allow businesses to benefit from joint expertise, help ensure that claims are handled more effectively and provide access to a number of legal services.”

As revealed by Legal Futures last week, NewLaw appears to have a third joint venture ABS in the offing after the Solicitors Regulation Authority licensed H&R Legal [3], which – like the FMG and Ageas firms – has its office listed as NewLaw’s headquarters and the same NewLaw staff as its head of legal practice and head of finance and administration.