Just four months ago, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, confirmed the Government’s intention to press ahead with the programme of radical legal services reforms outlined the previous year by Sir David Clementi. What had, until then, been a theoretical possibility turned into a very real prospect overnight.
Among other measures, the reforms are set to allow outside investors to buy a share in law firms or even to purchase them outright. A profession which has, until now, been protected by partnership status will be exposed to the chill winds of competition: those firms that attempt to maintain the status quo are likely to be at a disadvantage to any of their competitors who take advantage of outside capital and expertise to make their businesses more efficient.
