Market monitor

A niche law firm which advises on employee share ownership and executive pay has become the latest to convert to an employee ownership trust.

The Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme is a “market barrier”, blocking entry to non-solicitor law firms, the Competition and Markets Authority has been told.

A host of mergers and acquisitions have been announced now that the 1 October deadline that most firms still stick to for their insurance renewal has passed, following a series unveiled last month.

Leading virtual law firm gunnercooke is ramping up its offering to associates as well as creating multi-disciplinary specialist consultancies in the next stage of its growth.

Slater & Gordon’s ambition to become the country’s leading consumer law firm will mainly be fulfilled online as it looks to automate as much legal work as it can, its chief executive has explained.

The LSB has issued a damning diagnosis of weaknesses in the structure of the market, including inadequate transparency by law firms and smaller regulators unable to cope with the change needed.

Pioneering listed law firm Gateley expects to continue growing both organically and by acquisition as it emerges from the Covid-19 crisis, it told investors yesterday.

Shares in listed law firm Ince Group tumbled by 10% yesterday after revealing that its UK operation was not performing as well as its overseas offices – even though revenues overall are up.

The latest consolidation move in the personal injury market came today with Slater & Gordon announcing the acquisition of Jigsaw Law from medico-legal and insurance services giant Examworks.

Criminal advocates unable to accommodate courts’ extended operating hours are likely to miss out on instructions even though they can ask for hearings to be held during regular hours instead.

Ex-Attorney General Geoffrey Cox has joined Withers as ‘consultant global counsel’, subject to conditions imposed to ensure he does not use his knowledge to unfairly benefit the City firm.

A new specialist criminal law firm has launched with a stop and search app that allows users to record their interaction with the police and automatically uploads it to the cloud.

Conveyancers, estate agents, surveyors and others have signed up to an ‘industry pledge’ that urges sellers to instruct a lawyer before, or at the same time as, they put their property on the market.

Some of the most vulnerable people have been left isolated and without proper access to solicitors because of the official response to the Covid-19 crisis, the Law Society has argued.

An American private equity house has become the largest external investor in DWF after taking a 4.5% stake in the listed law firm worth £10m.