Alternative Business Structures (ABS)

Alternative business structures or ABS relates to changes in the legal services in the UK.
Traditional ownership restrictions have now changed to allow non-lawyers to invest and become owners of their own legal business.
This means we could see banks supermarkets and other such companies being able to provide a lawyer along with their regular services.
On January 3 this year the SRA (solicitors regulation authority) began accepting applications from such businesses, they announced that ABS providing reserved legal activities will be regulated in the same rigorous professional standards as traditional Law firms.
This can only be good news for consumers, many critics felt that loosening ownership restrictions could result in a drop in standards of legal services.
These changes will no doubt effect existing law firms and conveyancers, no one knows for sure but it may well result in lower fees including conveyancing fees.
The Amount of applications have been significant but changes won't happen overnight, it can take up to 9 months to have an application processed.
It would be wise for law firms who  carry out legal services including conveyancing to prepare themselves for these changes.