header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
07 October 2011 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7484 / Categories: Opinion , Legal aid focus , Legal services
printer mail-detail

Rolling back justice (4)

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

What will ABSs mean for legal aid firms? Jon Robins collects the views of those who are for & against deregulation

This week sees the start-date for the licensing of alternative business structures (ABSs), the most radical aspect of the Legal Services Act 2007, which allows for both the external ownership of law firms and the floating of legal practices on the stock exchange. But just what does this significant step towards deregulation of legal services mean for the publicly-funded end of the profession? Does it mean anything? The already precarious financial base of legal aid firms is about to be decimated by a government reform agenda predicated on the objective of removing £350m from a £2.1bn scheme. Ministers also want to slash fees for civil and family by 10% across the board.

Breath of fresh air?

Can ABSs breathe some life into a dying sector? A couple of years ago I asked Carolyn Regan, then chief executive of the Legal Services Commission, whether the Legal Services Act had anything

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Speechlive LogoClick to know more
Browne Jacobson—Vicky Tomlinson

Browne Jacobson—Vicky Tomlinson

Browne Jacobson appoints Vicky Tomlinson as Head of Independent Health and Care

DWF—five appointments

DWF—five appointments

DWF further strengthens major injury and casualty offering with new partner and four directors from DAC Beachcroft

Switalskis—Laura Ornsby

Switalskis—Laura Ornsby

Switalskis strengthens Grimsby child care team

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Employment law’s four-point check
The Supreme Court has settled a long-running dispute over part-time workers: unfavourable treatment need be a significant or effective cause, not the sole cause
NLJ this week: Privacy meets the courtroom
Arbitration may be private, but its confidentiality is no impenetrable shield. Writing in NLJ this week, James Glaysher of Kingsley Napley examines when courts will permit arbitral material to surface in open litigation
NLJ this week: Auditors tighten the disclosure screws
The Financial Reporting Council’s revised Audit Enforcement Procedure will alter the balance of power in corporate investigations
NLJ this week: Telecoms tenants caught in a legal gap
A telecoms operator may be able to hold over under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, yet still be unable to secure a renewal: an outcome described as a legal ‘paradox’
NLJ this week: Due process holds the line

Safety fears do not automatically justify shutting an interested person out of a statutory will application

Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll