Market monitor

Small law firms increasingly see online legal services providers as their biggest commercial threat, and are becoming more worried about DIY providers too, new research has shown.

Two City practices are in the first group of panel law firms used by telecoms giant Nokia to undergo a new assessment of their progress on equality, inclusion and diversity.

A solicitor who sold his stake in the law firm he co-founded to focus on a HR software company set up at the same time has now sold the IT business.

A community interest company set up to offer free legal advice to those unable to pay for it and not eligible for legal aid has increased the number of its volunteers from nine to 50 during the pandemic.

Law firm consolidator Metamorph Group has unveiled its latest acquisition, as we round up the latest M&A news and report on a major new international force launched in France and Germany.

International professional services group ETL Global has acquired 30-partner London firm Laytons for its network, doubling its legal footprint in the UK with further acquisitions to come.

A lawtech start-up has far exceeded its target to raise funding of £120,000 for software that links lawyers who know each other so they can collaborate remotely and compete with large firms.

Immigration and civil litigation were the two areas of legal practice hit hardest by the pandemic last year, with private client and family law “insulated” from the impact, new research has found.

Knights is to acquire Sheffield practice Keebles for £11.6m, the 13th acquisition the consolidator has managed in less than three years as a listed business.

The boss of Keystone Law has said he is “untroubled” by the ambitions of other law firms that openly want to compete with the listed business as it announced rising turnover and profit for 2020/21.