Legal Services Act
Scottish solicitors eyeing MDPs rather than external investment as ABS scheme moves closer
Early interest in the Scottish form of alternative business structures is coming from solicitors looking to form partnerships with other professionals, rather than seeking external investment, the Law Society of Scotland has revealed.
In defence of big brands: ethics, back-up, customer focus and value, argues Co-op
Big brands providing legal services will face “risks and pressures” which are not present in smaller private practice law firms – but the measures in place to control them “are likely to be substantial”, a senior member of the Co-operative Legal Services team has claimed, explaining what new entrants to the law will bring.
Halebury bids to put the ‘alternative’ into ABS
‘Alternative’ law firm Halebury, a specialist business and sport law firm, has announced plans to formalise that tag and become an alternative business structure after substantially bulking up its team.
Ombudsman prepares for ABS role – and publishing complaints data on 700 firms
The changing legal market brings with it “more potential for confusion” among consumers, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly acknowledged last week, making the role of the Legal Ombudsman even more important in future.
Consumer panel: lift ban on law centres and other not-for-profit advisers charging for work
The ban on law centres and other not-for-profit organisations charging for advice should be lifted as part of plans to bring them into the alternative business structure regime, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said.
Susskind: the market will “do its stuff” as ABSs drive unimagined efficiencies
It will take up to 10 years for the true effects of alternative business structures (ABSs) to be felt, Professor Richard Susskind said this week. He said the only certainty at the moment was that much of the £25bn legal market is “very inefficient”.
Complex legal products risk the law’s own mis-selling scandal, ombudsman warns
The Chief Legal Ombudsman today warned of the risk of a payment protection insurance-type scandal engulfing the legal profession after collecting evidence of clients being sold complex and confusing legal products that they often struggled to understand.
France says ‘Non’ to ABS
Alternative business structures cannot be viewed as law firms and will not be allowed to operate in France, the body representing the 179 French bar associations has said. They claimed ABSs conflict with lawyers’ independence.
Jordans eyes up ABS to expand beyond company services
Well-known business services provider Jordans Ltd is to set up an alternative business structure aimed at handling outsourced legal work for both companies and law firms, it has emerged.
University bids to create ‘ABS-ready’ law students and develop innovation in legal services
A groundbreaking project that aims to encourage students to think about innovation in the post-alternative business structure world – and help them develop new ideas for delivering legal services – has been launched by Sheffield Hallam University.
Firms in top 25 “eyeing up M&A activity with non-lawyers”, says survey
A surprising number of top law firms are eyeing up merger with or acquisition of a firm from another profession, accountants BDO have found. Ten firms in the top 25 said it could happen in the next three years.
Will-writer becomes ABS to handle reserved work and plumps for CLC regulation
A will-writing and probate services company in Birmingham has become the latest alternative business structure, and only the second licensed by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.
LSB gets clean bill of health but idea of ‘super regulator’ remains on the horizon
The Legal Services Board and Office for Legal Complaints were today given a clean bill of health by the government, although it acknowledged that in the long term transforming the LSB into a ‘super regulator’ is an option.
Family specialist calls on lawyer mediators to unite in fight against new competition
A family law practitioner from Wakefield is calling on solicitors, barristers and chartered legal executives to unite to promote to the public the benefits of lawyer mediators over non-lawyer competitors.
10+ partner firms eye merger, leaving smaller practices home alone
There is a much higher chance of merger among mid-sized law firms than small practices in the coming year but the well of good merger partners is far from bottomless, new research has found. The survey found that most had thought about merger in recent months.
Blog
The UK’s global leadership in lawtech is at risk if women are left behind
Tech has the equivalent of an old boy’s network. That makes it harder for women to break in. It also makes it harder when it comes to networking, finding backers and ultimately clients.
How legal judgement is shifting in in-house practice
Across UK organisations, legal teams are now involved earlier in decision-making, often before proposals have taken a settled shape.
AI in family law – drawing the line for clients and lawyers
AI is becoming increasingly intertwined with family law. Clients are using it to draft initial enquiries, prepare statements and, in some cases, to support themselves as litigants in person.
