Alternative business structures

AIM-listed Fairpoint Group is set to become almost entirely a legal services business after announcing that it will stop offering debt management plans – which was once a key part of its business. It said that from next year the group would focus on its “higher-growth legal services segment”.

Gateley is seeing the benefits of being the first UK-listed law firm, its chairman said today as it announced record turnover. Revenue increased 10.2% to £67.1m in the year to 30 April 2016, with profit before tax up 12.2% to £11m. As a result shareholders are to see a final dividend of 3.764p.

A family-run firm of funeral directors with 36 branches has become the first of its kind to set up an alternative business structure. Lodge Brothers Legal Services, launched last week, offers fixed-fee services for clients wanting wills, probate and powers of attorney.

The first local authority alternative business structure to be given a licence by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has been taken over by the second. Lawyers at Buckinghamshire County Council have joined HB Public Law, making it the largest local authority legal team in the country.

The government is today laying out plans to remove restrictions on alternative business structures (ABSs) on the basis that they have proven no more risky than traditional law firms. However, it has delayed publication of the consultation on the independence of legal regulators from representative bodies.

A solicitor who failed in his attempt to challenge the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s closure of his alternative business structure is now to face a disciplinary tribunal, it has emerged. Michael John Elsdon is facing 15 charges, largely in relation to his conduct of probate matters.

The president of the Supreme Court last week called for a debate on the ethical implications of artificial intelligence and for “greater prominence” for ethics in legal training. Lord Neuberger also warned once again of increased potential for ethical conflicts in alternative business structures owned by non-lawyers.

Crawford & Company, one of the world’s biggest firms of loss adjusters, has announced that it is setting up an alternative business structure in the UK to offer an end-to-end claims management services. Crawford – which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange – has 27 offices in this country.

Alternative business structure Lawyers Inc has said it aims to recruit between 800 and 1,000 lawyers over the next five years, having taken over two law firms as it rolls out its groundbreaking model. Director Martyn Caplan said he was talking to a dozen more firms.

Two separate alternative business structures specialising in commercial contracts went live today – each offering clients a non-traditional alternative to corporate law firms. Wavelength.law makes sophisticated use of new technology, while Ember Contract Solutions is part of a management consultancy.

Alternative business structure Metamorph Law has taken the first step in its plan to consolidate dozens of law firms by acquiring north-west firm Linder Myers in a pre-pack deal. Assure Law, the business consultancy that in 2014 saved Linder Myers from administration and installed its chief executive as the firm’s CEO, is also a minority shareholder in Metamorph.

Alternative business structures are three times more likely than regular firms to offer “novel online solutions for clients wishing to access their services”, according to the Council for Licensed Conveyancers as we round up ABS news from up and down the country.

More than two decades’ experience of alternative business structures has shown lower rates of complaint against lawyers than in traditional firms, a law firm headquartered in Washington DC, which allows non-lawyer ownership, has argued – as lawyers and businesses keen on the legal market lined up against each other.

Well-known legal expenses insurer Elite Insurance has joined the select group of companies to turn their in-house legal teams into an alternative business structure, Legal Futures can reveal. The Gibraltar-domiciled company aims to reduce its overall claims and legal spend.

Lawyer-led alternative business structures are leaving their rivals behind, the head of North West firm Jackson Canter has said. Executive chairman Andrew Holroyd was speaking as the firm announced the acquisition of Lees Solicitors, doubling its size to over 280 staff.