Legal Services Act

The Legal Services Board has been critical of the length of the time the Solicitors Regulation Authority has taken to approve alternative business structures, it has emerged.

QualitySolicitors is set to unveil a “new approach to delivering legal services”, Legal Futures can reveal. It comes as the company’s deal with WH Smith winds down and founder Craig Holt becomes president to focus on research and development.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) will consider fast-tracking alternative business structure (ABS) applicants who want to bid for the government’s proposed criminal legal aid contracts, Legal Futures can reveal.

Close to half of consumers of legal services are not satisfied with the value for money they received, with probate providing the least satisfaction and will writing the most, according to research. Just 57% considered they received value for money on average.

The legal sector is “ripe” for investment and capital should not be an issue with so many investors looking to buy into the profession, lawyers in the north-west were told this week. They were urged to “seize the opportunity” to establish what their clients wanted.

Manchester-headquartered alternative business structure Horwich Farrelly has headed south to launch an office in the City of London. The specialist insurance litigation law firm estimates that the new office will generate up to £2m of income in its first year.

The cost to businesses seeking legal advice to comply with current piecemeal consumer rights legislation is as high as £2,500 a year – but they should see big savings as a result of forthcoming reform, the government has claimed.

All consumers of legal services – using a broad definition that includes “linked professional services and advice that has a legal dimension” – should have access to the Legal Ombudsman, its chairman said today.

Lender panels, rather than alternative business structures (ABSs), are the main threat to conveyancing businesses, new research has found. Interest among conveyancers in becoming an ABS also appears to be falling.

A not-for-profit venture capital business that promotes innovation is set to invest in a start-up law firm targeting the technology sector, Legal Futures can reveal. The unusually named Atypical Law Firm will this week submit its ABS application.

The Legal Services Board has hit back at continuing criticism of its role and work by insisting that it has a legal duty to take positive action – and that turning the clock back to a pre-Legal Services Act world is not an option.

A new law firm ‘broker’ is targeting companies that believe they are overpaying for legal services. The Legal Broker argues that even the most sophisticated clients are having trouble finding value for money and good service from their external lawyers.

LegalForce, the US company that plans to build a legal services brand for innovators and start-ups based around a retail space, has stepped up its bid to build a UK network by appealing directly to sole practitioners and small law firms to apply to join.

A London chambers has become the first alternative business structure licensed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority that does not have any solicitors. Richmond Chambers LLP is a niche immigration set that focuses on direct access work.

The man running alternative business structure Quindell Portfolio saw his pay more than double to nearly £900,000 last year, the company’s annual report has revealed. It has also put the full cost of Quindell’s purchase of three law firms last year at £45m.