Market monitor

The turnover of claims management companies (CMC) soared by 57% to £581m over the past year, despite a ten-fold increase in the number of businesses having their authorisation cancelled, their regulator has reported.

Some lawyers and financial advisers may be exploiting bereaved families by overcharging for probate, over-50s organisation Saga has suggested – pointing consumers to its own, cheaper, legal services arm instead. It says it will charge 1% of the estate, compared to up to 5% by other providers.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority will not be able to start regulating alternative business structures on 6 October, Legal Futures can reveal. Further, the question of whether prospective non-lawyer investors in ABSs will have to reveal all convictions, even if they are spent, remains unresolved and could stop the SRA licensing ABSs with external ownership.

Mid-market law firms are responding cautiously to the changing legal services market, with just 14% saying they are actively considering external investment and 21% anticipating a merger or major restructuring in the next year, according to new research.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has already received “strong interest” in ABS investment from abroad and from non-English law firms that want to use the structure, it has revealed. They includes one of China’s largest law firms.

Law firms are reporting diminishing interest in external investment and alternative business structures, a new survey has found. The Legal Services Act Index, produced by Baker Tilly, found that 50% of respondents were considering an outside investor, compared to 60% last autumn.

Fifteen south Wales law firms are set to merge back-office operations and link up with a leading chambers with a view to bidding for a criminal legal aid contract as a single business. It is a move that could foreshadow the future organisation of criminal defence work.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is investigating how it can license accountancy firms to become alternative business structures and provide legal advice to clients, Legal Futures can reveal. The ICAEW is set first to apply for the right to regulate its members to provide reserved probate activities.

The great majority of consumers who have used legal services are satisfied with the outcome, although many do not feel they received good value for money, a survey has found. Worryingly for lawyers likely to face competition from trusted brands after October, however, it suggested significant public distrust of lawyers.

In-Deed, the new online conveyancing service from Rightmove founder Harry Hill, is eyeing up expansion into the will-writing and personal injury market. The company listed on AIM today with a market capitalisation of £8.6m.

Just 3% of consumers rate a recognisable brand such as Tesco, the Co-operative or the AA as an important factor when choosing a law firm, new research has found. However, the survey of 500 consumers found that 26% would nonetheless go to one of those three brands for legal advice – but 74% would choose a traditional law firm.

A fifth of all law firms are now members of legal referral and support network Connect2Law, it has emerged. Set up a decade ago by Manchester law firm Pannone, Connect2Law now has 2,240 members, with hopes of reaching as many as 3,000 by the end of 2011.

The Co-operative has this week broken new ground by offering face-to-face legal services, combined with financial services advice, through the Britannia bank. The pilot could be the precuror to legal services being delivered through 350 branches of Britannia and the Co-operative Bank.

In-deed, the new online conveyancing business, could use the cash it raises from an AIM listing to inject capital into its panel law firms, it has emerged. The company hopes to float next month, with a market capitalisation projected at around £9m.

The founder of property website Rightmove enters the law today with the intention of making his online conveyancing service the market leader within three years, Legal Futures can reveal. It is being marketed on the basis of service quality, rather than price.