Alternative business structures have arrived, giving existing firms and new entrants to the legal sector a fresh option for including non-lawyer owners and managers. Fox Williams has been at the forefront of developments in the ABS arena. Following on from the Big Bang Report, on Tuesday they launched a new report, ABSolutely Fabulous, exploring attitudes towards ABSs now that they have become a reality.
At the launch, a panel of speakers discussed the implications of the report’s findings. The panel included Tina Williams of Fox Williams, George Bull of accountancy firm Baker Tilly, Steve Arundale of RBS, Neil Kinsella of Russell Jones and Walker (part of Slater and Gordon and among the first ABSs authorised), Anthony Bellau of private equity house August Equity and Adam Shutkever of Riverview Law, an innovative law firm which involves barristers and solicitors, but which is not (as yet) an ABS.
The overriding theme of the panel’s discussion was that ABSs must be assessed in the context of a firm’s strategy, rather than a defensive move or to take advantage of short-term tax or investment gains. The panel viewed access to finance as the key driver to conversion for ABS, with incentivisation and enhancing brand as realistic aims of conversion. It noted that structural change was already happening in the UK legal market, with ABSs being one of a number of responses to this change. Although some firms have identified the real benefits of moving to ABS, many continue to hold unrealistic assumptions about what ABSs can bring.
For the key findings from the report and to access a copy of the report click here.
If you would like advice or support in connection with this issue, please contact
Tina Williams (cjwilliams@foxwilliams.com),
Doug Preece (dpreece@foxwilliams.com) or
Daniel Sutherland (dsutehrland@foxwilliams.com).