Legal Services Act

Firms that are adapting to the way the legal market is changing “will have to face the hard truth that their actions today won’t be understood for years”, an investigation into the future of the law has concluded.

Fast-expanding multi-office law firm HCB has joined forces with a firm of accountants in a bid to provide “joined-up professional services”. HCB chief executive Mike Gahan has taken a 51% stake in Hatch.

The prospect of law firms opening offices in supermarkets has become a reality in Canada, with a practice opening three within stores of retail giant Walmart amid plans to take the concept ‘coast to coast’.

The world’s largest lawyer rating website could be heading for the UK after raising £22m in new capital, Legal Futures can reveal. Avvo, a US-based company, applies its proprietorial rating to more than 97% of lawyers in America.

Alternative business structure Quindell plc moved to reassure the stock exchange yesterday after a negative research note sent its share price plummeting. Having started the day at around 40p, Quindell’s shares on AIM fell as low as 17p before recovering somewhat to 23.75p.

The High Court has struck down an “unlawful and irrational” Legal Ombudsman decision to reduce a law firm’s fee and compensate its client for distress and inconvenience.

The number of applications for grant of probate by personal applicants has risen for the third year running, raising questions about the impact of new entrants to the market, according to new figures.

Co-operative Legal Services made a loss of £22m in 2013 when the impact of a slower rate of growth than previously planned for is taken into account, the group announced today.

A new trade association, the Society of McKenzie Friends, is to be launched to represent the non-lawyer advisers who charge fees, as the first step towards self-regulation. The news comes as the Legal Services Consumer Panel concludes that the public interest benefits of MFs outweigh the risks.

The timetable for advocates to register for the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates has been thrown into chaos as a result of the continuing judicial review of its legality. Meanwhile, the Bar Standards Board has begun the search for a new chair.

The number of alternative business structures (ABSs) has passed 300, with a major international business support services company with offices around the world among the latest to achieve the status.

Plans to simplify the approval process for non-lawyer owners of alternative business structures are being considered by the Legal Services Board, it has emerged. Private equity purchasers are proving particularly tricky under the current regime.

Law firms are starting to see the opportunities in small claims after Liverpool firm Morecrofts launched a flat-fee service, allied with unbundled pieces of advice, to aid potential claimants.

The launch of the mortgage market review will have a “dramatic impact” on the conveyancing industry, resulting in further polarisation, one of the country’s leading property firms has predicted.

AIM-listed Fairpoint Group wants to see its soon-to-be-acquired law firm, Simpson Millar, become a recognised consumer legal brand, its chief executive has told Legal Futures. He also confirmed that its financial backing will enable Simpson Millar to accelerate acquisition activity.