Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2011 | Page 30

PROPERTY

LEGAL ISSUES
with Terence Willey & Company

Will ABS’s make a difference to
the consumer of legal services?
You may well ask what is an ABS? As
from October 6 this year law firms will
be entitled to give consideration to
seeking a Licence to become what is to
be known as an “Alternative Business
Structure”, subject to fulfilling
certain criteria during the course of
registration.
I was fortunate enough to serve, by
appointment, The Clementi Review
Committee for my own Statutory and
Regulative Body being The Council
for Licensed Conveyancers. It was Sir
David Clementi who was very keen
to offer law firms the opportunity for
better motivation and career prospects
to their professional Managers,
Directors of Finance and Human
Resources, marketing and technology.
Furthermore the opportunity to share
in the ownership of firms as outlined
in the Legal Services Bill. This new
approach was to become known within
the profession as “Tesco Law” out
of a conception of the prospect of
large and well known brands entering
into the legal services market. Legal

Services Co-operatives are already in
place to provide Conveyancing and
Will writing services in particular. Due
consideration will have to be given by
outside investors who wish to join in
such ownership of such legal practices
whether or not such investment would
be beneficial in the longer term, as
there would be no financial advantage
in the short term. There will be
obvious risks and mistakes made in
respect of the control of management
and the reputation of legal services
so offered under such new branding.
My personal concerns have always
been, and will remain such, that the
packaging of legal services with the
involvement of other professionals
has tended to have a serious effect
on the general service to the client.
This being due mainly to the fact that
the emphasis is more on cost cutting
by creating central processing units
undertaken by unqualified staff who
in the main are motivated by turnover.
Private and small Practices around
the Country quite understandably are

expressing concerns as to being able
to retain a share of the market. There
will never be any substitute for good
personal and accessible service to a
client and I believe clients will always
value this above all alternatives.
As far as ABS’s are concerned
they will, in my view, only succeed
by balancing efficiency with good
personal and accessible support to the
client, otherwise such structures will
inevitably fail in the longer term.

Terence Willey & Company., Lawyers and Commissioners for Oaths
(incorporating Malcolm Daniells & Company and The Bembridge Law Practice)
Contact Terence Willey 01 983 875859 or Mark Willey 01983 611888
www.terencewilley.co.uk
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