Market monitor

Listed law firm Knights is eyeing up acquisition opportunities across England and Wales after its performance rebounded strongly in the second half of the year to take turnover over £100m.

Professor Richard Susskind’s claim that the current model of alternative legal services providers has not delivered and needs to be rethought is premature, the boss of Radiant Law has argued.

Listed company Marlowe has continued the rapid expansion of its employment law business by buying law firm Cater Leydon Millard for £2.25m – its second acquisition in three months.

QualitySolicitors is set for rejuvenation as a national network of law firms after being acquired by consolidator Metamorph Group, which aims to triple its membership.

A freelance solicitor has teamed up with a former KPMG partner to launch a divorce business that guarantees its fixed-fee quote for the whole process, including ancillary relief.

Almost two-thirds of in-house legal departments are predicting increased workloads, despite most anticipating no increase in staff numbers and almost half expecting budget cuts.

The two lawyers behind Anexo Group PLC will pocket at least £61m from selling their remaining stakes in the business if a proposed takeover goes through, having made £46m earlier this year.

An online brand protection provider spun out of leading media law firm Wiggin has been sold to a company which helps brands manage their intellectual property globally.

The top 50 law firms had nearly £6bn of unpaid client invoices on their balance sheets last year and would be better prepared for another crisis like Covid if they reduced this, an analysis has argued.

Mergers of law firms are “not a time for consensus because decisions must be made” and the fact partners may have to cede control “must be debated and not hidden”, a report has warned.

The world’s largest law firm, Dentons, has launched a standalone advisory firm backed by private equity with the aim of building a vast multidisciplinary offering across the globe.

More than half of legal services workers will lose their jobs and those that remain will be forced to take “performance-enhancing medication”, a “disruptive” vision of 2050 has envisaged.

National law firm Shoosmiths has spun its debt recovery practice into an alternative business structure joint venture with collections, recoveries and enforcement company Chartsbridge.

Slater & Gordon has launched ‘miplatform’, what it says is a ‘first of its kind’ digital legal service that enables clients to progress their matters with little or no direct contact with a lawyer.

An acquisitive North-West law firm and a private equity investor have joined forces to offer a service for insolvency practitioners looking to sell distressed consumer practices.