Alternative business structures

Alternative business structures (ABSs) set up by local authorities should improve access to justice without threatening private practice law firms, according to the lawyers who advised on the first two council licences.

Passing a two-day course will enable accountants to start offering probate law services to the public, after the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales yesterday officially received the power to regulate probate and licence alternative business structures.

The global spread of alternative business structures (ABSs) took a major step forward yesterday after a report by the Canadian Bar Association strongly backed their introduction.

HB Public Law, the shared legal service set up by Harrow and Barnet Councils, has been granted an alternative business structure licence by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has finally licensed the first local authority alternative business structure (ABS), after approving the collaborative law firm set up by two Buckinghamshire local authority legal teams, Legal Futures can reveal.

There are now more than 300 alternative business structures (ABS) operating in England and Wales under the supervision of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Irwin Mitchell has announced the launch of an alternative business structure (ABS) with online insurer esure, called IMe Law. The move is the latest in a series of ABS deals between insurers and law firms.

David Ashcroft, the new managing director of Optima Legal, has outlined his ambitions for the ABS to become a market leader in commercial property and debt collection services.

A large majority of alternative business structures, 89%, would tackle their application differently if they applied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for a licence again, research has revealed.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has been given the green light by Parliament to regulate alternative business structures which provide probate services, with dozens of firms already showing an interest in taking advantage.

NorthEdge Capital, a private equity firm focused on investing in businesses in the North of England, has announced an investment of £15m into Roberts Jackson, the Cheshire-based industrial disease alternative business structure.

Clinical negligence outsourcer 5R1 has announced its intention to become the first in its field to obtain alternative business structure (ABS) status. It currently operates as a claims management company, regulated by the Ministry of Justice.

The Institute of Professional Willwriters has won approval for a unique alternative business structure that will enable its members and others to access related legal services for their clients, and share in the fees generated.

The Legal Services Board has attacked the Solicitors Regulation Authority for having “over-engineered” its approach to regulating multi-disciplinary alternative business structures and to approving non-lawyer owners.

Chartered accountants will be able to carry out reserved probate work themselves, without the need to instruct a solicitor, from next month, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has said.