Market monitor

Some law firms will go out of business, but the coronavirus crisis will “undoubtedly create opportunities” for those “agile” enough to take advantage of them, the founder of a legal consultancy has predicted.

Ground-breaking conveyancing law firm Muve has completed a £1.1m equity funding round, despite the property market grinding to a halt during the Covid-19 crisis.

A City law firm has launched a low-cost commercial law service, using a subscription model and fixed fees, as a “direct response” to the needs of business clients hit by Covid-19.

Profits at NAHL plc – the company that owns National Accident Helpline – tumbled by nearly 80% in 2019 as it emerged it is testing whether to start handling conveyancing matters itself.

A growing number of listed law firm Keystone Law’s consultants are employing their own lawyers as the model develops, the company said today as it unveiled double-digit growth.

The body that organises the annual silk round has responded to pressure to release reserves during the coronavirus crisis by donating £200,000 to the benevolent associations for solicitors and barristers.

Consumers still find it difficult to differentiate one law firm from another, but publishing prices helps and awareness of legal brands is slowly rising, new research has found.

Co-operative Legal Services is eyeing up partnerships to boost its probate and estate planning work after announcing a record year as an alternative business structure.

US legal services giant LegalZoom has sold the Yorkshire law firm it bought more than four years ago to consolidator Metamorph, Legal Futures can reveal.

Many law firms are seeing the number of new file openings crash as the lockdown continues, but leaders have reported how staff are really stepping up their efforts.

The furlough scheme should be extended for property businesses, like conveyancers, where income required to pay staff will not be available for months after work is undertaken once lockdown is lifted.

A solicitor specialising in intellectual property has described “waiting in the wings” for two years to close down her regulated law firm and reopen as an unregulated business.

The whiplash reforms have been delayed until April 2021 due to the coronavirus crisis, the Lord Chancellor announced today. This is the third time implementation has been postponed.

RBG Holdings plc is aiming to broaden its non-legal offering and reduce its reliance on the revenues of City law firm Rosenblatt, it said today as it announced strong results for the 2019 financial year.

NAHL – the listed company that owns National Accident Helpline – announced yesterday that it has furloughed a third of its staff amid a fall in personal injury enquiries.