Alternative business structures

Almost two-thirds of solicitors active in the main consumer law areas expect their workload to increase over the next year – but there is looming pressure on fees, a survey has found.

Accident management group Redde plc – which owns NewLaw Solicitors – has seen profits from the law firm’s five alternative business structure joint ventures increase by nearly 150%.

Personal injury firms in Sheffield and Macclesfield have merged and created a new alternative business structure as they bid to ride out the upheaval of next year’s reforms.

Sheffield Hallam University has set up a standalone law firm so it can offer a law degree that incorporates mandatory work experience into every year of the course.

A multi-disciplinary construction business has become an alternative business structure, in part to reduce confusion among clients and also offer a one-stop shop.

A tax consultancy has set up an alternative business structure to create a “one-stop shop” for independent contractors seeking advice, saying ABSs had made the law more entrepreneurial.

Global law company Elevate is looking for more acquisitions this year after buying pioneering UK commercial law firm Halebury, which uses freelance lawyers to support in-house teams.

Alternative business structures operating in conveyancing are significantly more positive about their future than traditional practices as the number of firms in the field continues to fall.

A litigation-focused legal and accountancy alternative business structure, which opened for business this month, is set to benefit from an “explosion” in contested probate cases.

The founder of pioneering alternative business structure rradar has described innovation in the legal sector as “sweat, risk and stubbornness”. It is now lining up acquisitions to aid growth.