Alternative business structures

In the latest in our series tracking the fortunes of the new breed of alternative business structures (ABSs), we profile Bobby Dhanjal Wealth Management, which a year ago became the first financial services business to set up a legal arm.

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is unlikely to become an ABS licensing authority until 2015 and will not be regulating non-ABS firms, such barrister-only practices, before October this year, it has emerged.

Two of the country’s largest trade unions – the GMB and Communications Workers Union – have today broken new ground by creating an alternative business structure (ABS). Unionline is essentially a not-for-profit ABS as any profits will be ploughed back into the unions.

Preventing mortgage lenders from claiming on solicitors’ compulsory indemnity insurance will “destroy high street conveyancing”, Law Society chief executive Des Hudson has said, in a wide-ranging speech on the state of the profession.

The new chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Paul Philip, has used one of his first public platforms since being appointed to outline the new “back to basics” approach he wants the regulator to take.

In the first of a new series tracking the experience of the new breed of alternative business structures (ABSs), we profile Crabtree Law, which was the first in-house team to become a standalone law firm.

Stobart Barristers – the most controversial new business of the Legal Services Act era to date – will no longer provide legal advice to the public, Legal Futures can reveal.

Consumers of legal services do not all need the same level of protection and some of them, such as big corporations, might not need “any protection at all”, the SRA has said in a policy statement on its approach to regulation.

Non-reserved legal activities within multi-disciplinary alternative business structures should be taken out of regulation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, it proposed yesterday.

The North East Growth Fund (NEGF) is investing £150,000 in one of the country’s most specialised ABSs to pay for systems upgrades and new staff training provision.

Outsourcing giant Capita can complete its purchase of Optima Legal and Cost Advocates after the SRA today granted Optima an alternative business structure license.

Local authorities must have a “really clear rationale” before setting up ABSs to generate extra income, a leading public services lawyer has warned. Potential problems included conflicts of interest, confidentiality and indemnity insurance.

Pioneering legal business Riverview Law has been granted an alternative business structure (ABS) licence, enabling it to own Riverview Solicitors. As of 1 June, Riverview Solicitors will merge into Riverview Law.

The number of alternative business structures (ABSs) has passed 300, with a major international business support services company with offices around the world among the latest to achieve the status.

Plans to simplify the approval process for non-lawyer owners of alternative business structures are being considered by the Legal Services Board, it has emerged. Private equity purchasers are proving particularly tricky under the current regime.