Market monitor

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has become the first of the ‘big four’ accountants to become an alternative business structure (ABS), it announced today. The move allows it to become the owner of, and investor in, PwC Legal.

Direct Line’s new alternative business structure is set to launch on 3 March after receiving its alternative business structure licence, the insurer announced today. Meanwhile, BGL Group – the first insurance company to buy a law firm – has revealed a major client win.

The alternative business structure (ABS) set up by Jordans – the company best known for its company formation services and legal textbooks – is looking to work with its existing law firm clients as an outsourcer, not compete with them, its CEO emphasised this week.

The legal profession is poised on the brink of an employment revolution that will unleash a “pent-up productivity” which will bring it into line with other industries, a report has claimed.

The private equity firm behind QualitySolicitors (QS) is eyeing up further acquisitions in the legal market and also thinks the network can quadruple in size, we can reveal. Further, QS is putting the days of headline-grabbing advertisements in primetime television slots behind it.

An English law firm yesterday launched a home-grown online documents service that it claimed is the first product with the potential to rival those from the US legal document processing giants Rocket Lawyer and Legal Zoom.

One in five mid-sized law firms expects to seek external investment to fund expansion within an alternative business structure, according to a major benchmarking survey. However, very few see a merger with non-lawyer professionals in their future.

The first acquisition of a listed company that in turn owns an alternative business structure went through last week after leading insurer Markel won court approval for the scheme of arrangement to buy Abbey Protection Group plc.

An international construction law consultancy has become an alternative business structure (ABS) in order to take advantage of the esteem in which English firms are held elsewhere in the world, in one of the more unusual ABSs seen to date.

An online legal service aimed at small businesses yesterday launched its second round of ‘crowdfunding’ in less than a year, while awaiting an alternative business structure (ABS) licence with a view to obtaining further equity.

The long-awaited opening of Legal365’s first city centre law shop will take place this year, one of its architects has told Legal Futures. Legal365 is a joint venture between Yorkshire law firm Last Cawthra Feather and entrepreneur Ajaz Ahmed, the founder of Freeserve.

Law firms need to re-examine their traditional business models and embrace change in how legal services are delivered if they are to survive, new research has argued. It said they need to build a better boat, not a bigger one.

A Lancashire personal injury firm that has grown from four to 100 staff in under four years and its turnover to £4.5m, has acquired an alternative business structure licence as part of ambitious growth plans.

LegalZoom – the online US legal services business that recently launched in the UK – has strengthened its financial position by selling a large chunk of the business to leading European private equity company Permira.

Riverview Law has announced a collaboration with US technology pioneer Legal OnRamp to offer a service that can cope with massive regulatory burdens imposed on financial institutions to avoid a repeat of the 2008 banking crisis.