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Organisations whose in-house solicitors provide reserved legal activities to people other than their employer – such as insurers, associations and local authorities – will have to decide for themselves whether by law they need to become alternative business structures, according to the SRA.

Co-operative Legal Services and high street firms John Welch and Stammers, and Lawbridge Solicitors Ltd have today become the first alternative business structures licensed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

A Manchester-based law firm that recently announced its £3m expansion plans has become the first practice in the country to implement Proclaim ABS PI.

New York lawyers are banned from running the Big Apple office of a UK alternative business structure with non-lawyer owners, the New York State Bar’s committee on professional ethics announced yesterday.

There have now been well over 100 alternative business structure applications since 3 January 2012 and we should see the first approvals imminently. So, what does this mean for the estimated 75% of practices which are just sitting and watching and hoping this will all go away? Should they be preparing to join the law firm beauty parade that will decide which law firms are purchased, sold and merged? Or are they right to wait on the side lines, biding their time?