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The Co-operative Group has today announced plans to create 3,000 jobs in the legal sector as it laid out its ambitions to create the largest consumer law business in the country. It will also offer face-to-face advice in all 330 of its bank branches.

Many of the lawyers who have only just woken up to the prospect of non-lawyer ownership of firms (a sizeable group, I’d wager) generally react with horror. The argument I hear all the time – exemplified by the letter signed by nine general counsel in the US – is that it will dilute the professionalism of lawyers, damage the lawyer-client relationship and lead to dastardly non-lawyers strong-arming lawyers to put profit before ethics.

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.

Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) has begun staffing its family division after launching what it described as the largest recruitment drive in its history. CLS is looking to appoint up to 150 new positions. It currently has around 400 staff.

Co-operative Legal Services has confirmed that it intends to submit its bid to become an alternative business structure on 3 January 2012 – the day the Solicitors Regulation Authority will begin accepting applications.