University law clinics as alternative business structures: more questions than answers?

When the Legal Services Act 2007 came into force , it was heralded as ushering in “important opportunities for solicitors to team up with non-lawyers and to attract capital for their businesses in a carefully regulated environment”. The focus was on greater competition and choice for clients by encouraging new entrants to the market. The Act paved the way for a new type of legal entity, the Alternative Business Structure (ABS). As an ABS, firms could have external ownership and investment and offer multiple services the clients from within the same practice. Fairly swiftly, the press decided to call this “Tesco Law” ; the rise of the one-stop shop where you could purchase your groceries and stop off for divorce advice.