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The final legislative obstacle to the Solicitors Regulation Authority licensing alternative business structures was removed on Tuesday when the House of Lords approved secondary legislation on non-lawyer owners’ disclosure of criminal convictions and appeals against ABS licensing decisions.

Is partnership an “inefficient and unattractive” structure that should be ditched to survive in the new legal marketplace, or is it a viable current model with much to offer lawyers wanting flexible governance and discretion? Both sides were put at a conference this week.

It is essential for law firms to offer better public legal education – including getting into schools, according to the Master of the Rolls – while alternative business structures could help pro bono provision, it was claimed at the launch of National Pro Bono Week on Monday.

I spoke at a conference organised by the Claims Standards Council earlier this year in Manchester on applying to become an alternative business structure. Inevitably the main topic of the conference was the Jackson reforms and the (then) possible threat to referral fees. The organisers thought that the impact of the reforms might lead many claims management companies to consider becoming an ABS by acquisition or merger with existing law firms or by developing an in-house legal function.

What is LawVest? It’s a question I’ve been asking those behind it for a bit but the information they have released to Legal Futures today has not made things a great deal clearer. They are keeping their model confidential for the time being, which is fair enough. But getting a firm like DLA Piper on board, and particularly Sir Nigel Knowles – who knows a thing or two about taking something small and making it very big – is a statement of significant intent.