Farman: trust will be critical
The alternative business structure (ABS) set up by Jordans – the company probably best known for its company formation services and legal textbooks – is looking to work with its existing law firm clients as an outsourcer, not compete with them, its CEO emphasised this week.
Jordans Corporate Law Limited was formally launched at an event in London and the group’s head confessed that the issue of stepping on the toes of its existing legal clients had been a concern before setting up the ABS.
Jordans said it already works for 75% of the UK’s leading law firms and accountancy practices, as well as an increasing number of corporate.
CEO Nick Rees said: “We certainly haven’t entered into this new arena lightly, not least because of the potential for conflict of interests with those clients who already offer similar services. Indeed, what we will be offering – and how we offer it – has been largely determined by what our clients have asked us for.
“We feel we can complement what our clients do because our role is to provide services they may already cover but where they need to work hard to manage their margins.
“We are here to continue to support businesses, not to compete with them. By outsourcing through us, their costs and time frames will be guaranteed – and so too will the quality.”
The head of Jordans Corporate Law, Debbie Farman – who joined last year from business process outsourcer Vertex, where she was head of legal – said she was confident of expanding the work the company undertakes for its clients.
She said: “Jordans is already a highly respected name nationally and internationally. It totally understands how the worlds of accountancy and law operate and it’s a company that people trust and want to work with.
“That trust will be critical as we will be extending our offer and looking to provide an extended range of support services – such as corporate and commercial legal advice, and non-contentious litigation work.”
Jordans was established 150 years ago. As well as being a leading law and accountancy publisher, it says it is the UK’s leading property search provider for conveyancers, forms over 25,000 UK companies every year and provides a “huge range” of compliance services.
A new team of lawyers, paralegals and corporate compliance experts has been recruited to augment Jordans’ existing in-house resource. The existing corporate governance and company secretarial was folded into the practice as well and Ms Farman heads a 20-strong practice.
Achieving ABS status involved separating Jordans Corporate Law from Jordans Trust Company: the latter forms UK and offshore trusts and foundations for international tax planning and cross-border activity, as well as providing tax advice and accounting services. The licence was issued last September.
