Market monitor

Minster Law – the major claimant practice now owned by insurance group BGL – has joined top personal injury marketing business National Accident Helpline (NAH), becoming its largest panel member.

A firm of accountants in Devon has become only the third to launch a legal arm after winning an alternative business structure licence. Davisons Legal Services began trading last week, with former City lawyer Philip Vickery as its head of legal practice.

QualitySolicitors has today launched a new advertising campaign that aims to tackle common preconceptions about lawyers, using the tag line ‘Changing the way you see lawyers’.

Winn Solicitors – the firm which was last week bought by two private equity businesses – now has the firepower to expand beyond its core road traffic practice, founder Jeff Winn has told Legal Futures.

Pattinson & Brewer and Beecham Peacock have created a joint venture that widens both firms’ offering to trade unions. Lawyers 4 Unions – which is styled as ‘Pattinson Brewer in association with Beecham Peacock’ – was launched yesterday at the annual Trades Union Congress.

Well-known London law firm Schillings – which was granted two alternative business structure licences in March – has relaunched as a business that integrates IT security, legal advice and risk consulting to help companies and individuals protect their reputations.

Lewis Hymanson Small – the law firm bought by AIM-listed Abbey Protection earlier this year – made a small dent in the company’s profits during a “tough” initial period, Abbey’s half-year results have shown. They also lay out how much it paid for the Manchester practice.

Winn Solicitors – which has grown in a decade from nothing to a highly profitable £40m volume claimant personal injury firm – is set for further expansion after being bought by two international investment companies.

Slater & Gordon has now formally acquired personal injury firm Goodmans, giving the alternative business structure (ABS) a Liverpool base for the first time. Meanwhile, Co-operative Legal Services has launched its academy to offer career progression to all staff.

The ban on referral fees in personal injury is set to cost Admiral Insurance around £15m this year, it emerged yesterday. The insurer also said its two new ABS joint ventures are “not expected to make a material contribution to group profits in the foreseeable future”.

Thomas Solicitors – which was bought by failed law firm Challinors three years ago – has been acquired by East Midlands practice Hawley & Rodgers. The firm has continued to trade profitably despite its parent company’s financial difficulties.

Co-operative Legal Services has revealed losses of £3.4m for the first half of 2013, which its parent group said reflected “the start-up nature of the business”. But The Co-operative Group affirmed its intention to “continue with our plans to develop this growing business”.

A niche medical law firm has become an alternative business structure with the ambition of becoming a one-stop shop for healthcare providers. DR Solicitors was created under a brand designed to appeal to its primary care doctor, dentist and consultant clients.

Leading AIM-listed accident management company Helphire Group has linked with a start-up personal injury law firm within an alternative business structure, Legal Futures can reveal. Principia Law Limited is managed by solicitors and barristers.

Riverview Law, the fixed-priced commercial law business, is to double in size by creating up to 100 new posts over the next year, it announced today. The firm said the appointments are a result of “recent contract wins with a number of FTSE 100 businesses”.