Legal Services Act

The first Polish-owned, Polish-speaking alternative business structure opened for business at the start of this month – with the help of a British solicitor. Optimal Solicitors started life as a claims management company before converting.

Slater & Gordon has moved to dispel any doubts about the wisdom of its acquisition of Quindell’s professional services division (PSD), emphasising the work it put into going over the books. It also revealed that the PSD will operate as a standalone division.

The sale of Quindell’s professional services division moved a major step closed today after the company’s shareholders approved the disposal to Slater & Gordon.

The rule which requires the Solicitors Regulation Authority to approve the individuals who own companies that in turn own alternative business structures is set to be scrapped. The requirement for firms to keep a record of non-material breaches of the SRA Handbook may also go.

Insurance giant Markel has laid out its plans to rapidly expand LHS Solicitors, an alternative business structure which combines the law firm and legal helpline it bought last year as part of its acquisition of Abbey Protection Group plc.

The Legal Services Consumer Panel has had to make “difficult judgement calls” in balancing the competing needs for increased access to services with consumer protection, the panel’s chair, Elisabeth Davies, has admitted.

Cahill Gordon & Reindel, based in New York, has become the first US firm to set up an alternative business structure in the UK, Legal Futures can reveal. Its head of legal practice is Richard Kelly, a London-based partner.

Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) stemmed its losses in the second half of 2014 and remains a core part of the wider Co-operative Group, today’s annual results have revealed. While the group has returned to profit, CLS recorded a loss of £5m for the year.

The Legal Services Consumer Panel has strongly attacked plans by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers to cut the size of grants from its compensation fund from £1m to £500,000 – a quarter of the amount clients of solicitors can claim.

Jenner & Block has not become the first US law firm licensed as an alternative business structure, it has emerged – rather it was an error by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Plus, call for QC to be open for all, and new members of LeO’s board.

A new local authority alternative business structure is targeting the health sector as one of its main growth areas. Its head said that with “no traditional partnership structure or expensive offices, our fees are very, very competitive compared with specialist private sector law firms”.

Institutional investors have snapped up new shares in Slater & Gordon to fund its purchase of Quindell’s professional services division, it announced overnight. Around 70% of the £637m initial purchase price – £456m – is being funded through new shares, with the rest through bank debt.

Insurance law firm BLM has joined forces with Cunningham Lindsey, one of the largest loss adjusting and claims management companies in the world, to launch an offering that combines loss adjusting, claims handling and litigation.

A personal injury claims mediation business, an American law firm and one of the largest local authority shared legal services in the country are among the latest alternative business structures to be licensed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

A report for the Bar Council on the future of criminal justice and advocacy has recommended that legal executives are kept out of the Crown Courts, while solicitors should only be granted rights of audience if they have undergone the same level of training as barristers.