Alternative business structures

A law firm has relaunched itself as a multi-disciplinary alternative business structure, offering corporate clients legal, accountancy, and business advisory services, with human resources advice set to follow. Its head said being able to offer SMEs more than legal services was a “unique selling point” in a crowded legal marketplace.

Keystone Law made its debut on the London Stock Exchange yesterday and saw its share price jump 20% in the first day of trading. Meanwhile, the UK’s first listed law firm, Gateley, issued a strong trading update, with revenues up 10% over the first six months of the current financial year.

The co-founder of the only wholly owned trade union alternative business structure has described the legal sector as not concerned with the general public’s access to justice but “access to profit”. He said the legal industry still “seems to be obsessed by debt, profit and finance”, with hardly a thought for the client.

A third of the top 300 UK law firms will have disappeared by 2022, a law firm finance expert predicted at yesterday’s Legal Futures Innovation Conference. John Llewellyn-Lloyd, who advised London firm Gordon Dadds on its recent flotation, said that by then there would also be at least 10 listed law firms, with a combined capitalisation of £2bn.

Pioneering alternative business structure (ABS) rradar has become the first law firm to be selected for the London Stock Exchange ELITE programme, which helps innovative new companies grow. Gary Gallen, chief executive of rradar, told Legal Futures that listing was “certainly something we’re looking at”, and being part of the programme would give the firm “all the tools and skills you need to do that effectively”.

The public listing of Keystone Law will provide its private equity investor with a “smooth exit” once Root Capital chooses to move on, the firm’s chief executive has told Legal Futures. James Knight was speaking in the wake of yesterday’s news that the ‘dispersed’ or ‘virtual’ firm will list on AIM at the end of the month.

Keystone Law – the pioneering ‘dispersed’ law firm made up of 250 self-employed senior lawyers – is set to become the third legal practice to list on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market, after announcing today that it will raise £15m through the float.

Multi-disciplinary alternative business structure (ABS) Alpaca is continuing with its efforts to disrupt legal and other professional services by declaring war on traditional working patterns and offering flexible working to all staff – and making three board-level hires as a result.

The head of the alternative business structure set up by company formations specialist and legal publisher Jordans has set its sights on international expansion. Debbie Farman said Jordans Corporate Law was “a concept we can replicate globally”, after growing its turnover from £67,000 in 2014 to £1.1m this year.

Gordon Dadds has started making good on its promise to be acquisitive, with the recently listed law firm announcing the purchase of a corporate tax advisory business for up to £8m. City-based CW Energy LLP describes itself as the leading independent corporate tax consultancy to the oil and gas industry.

The alternative to Slater & Gordon’s proposed recapitalisation is insolvency, the company has told creditors and shareholders as it seeks approval of the plan, which would see the debt of the newly separate UK arm slashed. However, shareholders would see their ownership of the company almost wiped out.

Warwickshire County Council has become the latest local authority to launch an alternative business structure to expand the work it already does for other public bodies. Unlike some of the other local authority ABSs, this is not a case of the entire legal department transferring into the new business.

LGSS Law, the ‘social enterprise’ alternative business structure owned by three local authorities, is set expand dramatically by merging with the shared legal team of Westminster City Council and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. The two councils envisaged costs savings through less use of external lawyers and bringing in additional income.

NAHL, the marketing business that owns National Accident Helpline, has created its second alternative business structure (ABS) licence in partnership with national law firm Lyons Davidson. The ABS will trade under the name National Law Partners and it is expected to begin operating in November 2017.

Metamorph Law, the alternative business structure looking to consolidate small law firms, has made a south-west conveyancing law firm its fourth and biggest acquisition of the year so far. It has taken over BPL Solicitors, a firm with revenues in excess of £5m and staff of around 100, based in offices in Dorchester, Bristol and Bournemouth.