Market monitor

A specialist public sector law firm is set to relinquish its alternative business structure licence after being acquired. London-based TPP Law has been bought by Geldards as part of the regional law firm’s bid to grow a national public services practice.

An accountancy firm for contractors, freelancers and self-employed professionals has launched its own law firm as the “missing piece in the client service jigsaw”. Brookson Ltd – based in Warrington – is only the second firm of accountants to become an ABS.

Alternative business structure Quindell Portfolio plc has signed a contract to provide white-labelled accident management services to Renault UK. Meanwhile, the white-label arm of Manchester law firm Pannone has announced a major hire.

New entrants and alternative business structures have made their mark on the consumer legal services market by striking major affinity and partnership deals to win new business, according to an in-depth study of distribution relationships in place for legal services in the UK.

The legal profession needs to face up to “some hard facts” – including an oversupply of lawyers – that go beyond government plans for legal aid reform, justice minister Lord McNally warned yesterday.

A legal business support firm and a legal training provider are creating an alliance to help independent firms resist the influx of big brand new entrants. 360 Legal Group, which works with around 700 member law firms, has joined forces with Central Law Training.

The first start-up alternative business structure (ABS) – offering clients ‘early access’ to barristers – has smashed expectations in its first year and aims to be turning over £500,000 in the next 12 months.

A newly established alternative business structure (ABS) set up by two lawyers and a wealth management expert is set to package up legal advice for financial advisers to provide to their customers.

It came as a major surprise to many in the industry when In-Deed closed for business. Despite a difficult trading period, with over £1m in cash on its balance sheet the company appeared in better health than many conveyancing practices. The closure marked a swift rise and fall in fortune for one of the poster children of liberalisation of the legal market.

A London firm of chartered surveyors has become an alternative business structure (ABS) with plans for a legal arm, in what is believed to be the first venture of its kind. Meanwhile, private equity-backed ABS Knights Solicitors has hired six planners as it builds a multi-disciplinary offering

Almost a third of personal injury law firms in the north-west have seen fee income drop due to the introduction of LASPO reforms on 1 April, new research has found. More than 70% said that the regulatory and structural changes have had a negative impact on their businesses.

Lawyers’ lack of transparency over cost – rather than the actual cost of their services – is the major barrier to consumers seeking legal advice and the primary cause of a breakdown in trust between them, Legal Services Board research has found.

Alex Mills, who was last week fired from The Apprentice, has told Legal Futures that his fledgling brand Dynamo Legal has a six-month window to capitalise on the publicity his stint on the BBC show has generated.

There may be fewer criminal law firms as a result of legal aid reform but not fewer solicitors, the Lord Chancellor claimed today. Questioned by the justice select committee, Chris Grayling also expressed disappointment at what he said was the Bar’s failure to engage with the process.

The shareholders of online conveyancing business In-Deed – the first listed company to buy a law firm – have approved the plan to dispose of the practice and the rest of its business. Nonetheless, the failure of In-Deed paves the way for “further necessary disruption in the conveyancing market”, it has been claimed.