Schadenfreude alert on High Street as Co-op’s legal services division slumps to £5.1m loss Legal Business The Co-operative group’s push into high street legal services continues to falter, with the unit making a £5.1m loss for…
Things to come – accountancy body handed power to grant ABS licences Legal Business There has been more attention of late on the corporate ambitions of major audit groups but news this week is…
ABS latest: Kent Legal Services to open the bidding in search for a JV partner this summer Francesca Fanshawe Kent County Council‘s legal arm is seeking ‘expressions of interest’ from potential alternative business structure (ABS) joint venture partners in…
ABS latest: Fairpoint Group to acquire Simpson Millar for £9m Legal Business Finance company Fairpoint Group has today (9 April) announced its intention to acquire Leeds-based Simpson Millar.
Guest post: Boring, boring Irwin Mitchell – there’s more to life than floating Neil Rose It’s not often that I feel sorry for law firm PR people, but I sense that Irwin Mitchell is getting a…
When futurology becomes reality – LexisNexis gains ABS licence to launch compliance service Legal Business The UK arm of legal publishing giant LexisNexis has been awarded an alternative business structure (ABS) licence by the Solicitors…
Race to provide direct legal services sees Allianz convert to an ABS Sarah Downey Last year they hit your television with an advert comparing the stresses of the daily commute and school run to…
PwC forms new law firm in Canada one month after obtaining ABS status Legal Business In the first major development since PricewaterhouseCoopers last month received authorisation from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to become an alternative…
In-house lawyers to be affected by impact of ABS as hundreds of corporates consider conversion Sarah Downey Up to 700 companies, public authorities and charities could currently be considering the business case for applying to become an…
Game changer: PwC receives approval from regulator to become an ABS Caroline Hill In a potentially game-changing move for the legal market PwC has today (31 January) received approval from the Solicitors Regulation…
Guest comment: That legal big bang – still waiting for the Dyson moment Legal Business We are now a little over two years since the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) began accepting applications from would-be alternative…
Barely into 2014 another PE house bets on law as Permira puts £122m into LegalZoom Legal Business It’s a deal that brings together one of the most touted ‘alternative’ legal service providers with one of Europe’s top…
Guest post: The rise and rise of Slater and Gordon – a tale of the ABS era Guest Blog If anyone wanted to see what alternative business structures (ABSs) can achieve, they need look no further than Slater and…
Blood from a stone: Walker Morris withdraws from personal injury market as Co-op Legal announces PI job cuts Francesca Fanshawe The post-Jackson reforms have claimed further victims as Leeds-based Walker Morris has announced it is to close its personal injury…
Game changers – the AA enters legal services market via Lyons Davidson tie-up Legal Business Touted as one of the potential game changers likely to enter the post Legal Services Act arena, the AA has…
Entries and exits: ‘Tesco Law’ licences hit 200 mark but a few early movers stumble Sarah Downey Despite a handful of well-publicised problems at alternative business structures (ABS), there are no shortage of entrants looking to pursue…
Virtual law: Mercedes-Benz UK GC sets up Radius Law Sarah Downey The virtual law space has a new entrant after former Mercedes-Benz UK group general counsel and head of compliance Iain…
Outsourcing giant Capita unveils plans to enter legal market as first ABS posts healthy financial results Sarah Downey Outsourcing giant Capita is to re-enter the UK legal market, having reached a conditional agreement to acquire Optima Legal Services,…
Return of the accountants: KPMG and EY consider ABS Sarah Downey Global accountants including KPMG and EY have the UK’s legal sector firmly in their sights as they consider their options…
ABS growing pains: Co-op Legal Service’s losses simply teething troubles, says GC Jaishree Kalia With news that Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) has posted a £3.4m loss in the for first half of 2013, the…
