Legal Services Act

A new venture that aims to “acquire, transform and aggregate” around 60 high street law firms over the next five years to create an alternative business structure with a turnover of more than £80m will shortly buy its first practice in a bid to prove the concept.

The lengths to which the Solicitors Regulation Authority goes to approve people involved in alternative business structures has been highlighted by the case of a six-month-old baby.

Eight people who pretended to be lawyers have been sentenced after scamming elderly people out of more than £500,000 in return for bogus asset protection trusts, with carrying out a reserved legal activity when not authorised one of the charges half of them faced.

Slater & Gordon’s £637m acquisition of Quindell’s professional services division has cleared its final hurdle after regulatory approval was granted by the Financial Conduct Authority. The transaction is now unconditional and on track for completion “shortly”.

New-style legal businesses continue to make waves in the City, with Lawyers on Demand (LOD) reporting strong annual results and Excello Law forming the first international alliance between “new-model dispersed law firms”. Meanwhile, Keystone Law has made waves with a daring publicity stunt in one of London’s busiest train stations.

The Legal Services Board has outlined its latest plans to improve the diversity of the profession, which will focus on developing ‘success criteria’ which regulators can use to judge their performance.

More than a quarter (26%) of complaints to the Legal Ombudsman are triggered by lack of clarity on fees, a major internal survey has found. Family law has emerged as the biggest offender, followed by wills and litigation.

The Legal Services Board has finally taken the Solicitors Regulation Authority off ‘report’ over how it is handling the approval of alternative business structures, with the number of licenses it has issued now topping 400.

Gateley and other law firms looking to go public must show they can avoid the costly mistakes the accountancy consolidators made when tried stock market listings, a leading commentator has warned.

National law firm Gateley has already made presentations to 30 investment funds and has to convince them that it has learned the lessons of other professional services firms that have listed, the firm’s chief executive has told Legal Futures.

The legal profession is set to pay less than ever for the Legal Ombudsman in the coming year, although the organisation has warned that the recent furore over its employee benefits scheme has increased the risk of extra costs arising from higher staff turnover.

The High Court has rejected a challenge to the closure of an alternative business structure by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. It was the first time an ABS closure decision has been tested in the High Court.

National law firm Gateley has today formally announced its intention to float on AIM, saying the “first mover advantage” it will gain by being the first listed law firm will provide “a platform to expand and diversify”.

National law firm Gateley has confirmed reports that work to become the first publicly listed law firm is underway after it appointed bankers to advise on a £130m float on AIM this summer.

Cambridgeshire financial advisers Beacon Wealth Management have used an alternative business structure to buy a local law firm. Tony Larkins, managing director of Beacon, said it had always been his aim to own a law firm and accountancy practice.