Shakespeares secures ABS licence

The Midlands’ second-largest law firm is looking to open a joint venture with insurers, third parties or corporate clients after securing an alternative business structure (ABS) licence.

Shakespeares partner Craig Wallace said that teaming up with an ABS-ready law firm would improve the client offerings of an insurer or broker, as well as giving them a stake in the fees that would have previously been retained exclusively by their preferred legal provider, following the ban in referral fees.

“Already, heavyweights such as Admiral and Ageas have gone down the ABS route and we predict that there will be other similar announcements in the coming months,” Wallace (pictured) said.

“As a former insurance professional I am intrigued about how the intermediaries will respond. The boundaries between adjuster, third party administrator and broker have long been eroding, but the possibility that any of those companies can now look to the provision of legal services means we are truly in unchartered waters.”

“I am sure that for insurers in particular, an ABS will bring opportunities to drive efficiencies, improve processes and lifecycles and therefore reduce costs. It will also bring about a significant shift in the ownership of fees attributed to the provision of legal services.”

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has granted 138 licences since the doors opened for non-lawyers to offer legal services through an ABS in January 2012.