From 6 April, an estate of which at least 10% is left to charity benefits from a reduced rate of inheritance tax on the balance of the estate. This change is an opportunity for everyone within the UK to help increase their support for good causes, at little cost to the other beneficiaries of the estate.

The Legacy10 campaign, of which I am a strong supporter, aims to increase the percentage of people who leave a charitable legacy in their wills, from the current 7% to 10%, which might generate around an extra £1bn for good causes. Three-quarters of the population of the UK already make a financial contribution to charity annually, but only 7% of us leave something to charity in our will. Legacy10’s polling found that although 80% of people in the UK were unaware of the impending changes to inheritance tax, over 70% of those questioned would make, or consider making a legacy, as a result of this change. Therefore, it seems to me there is a gap that needs bridging between people’s generous intentions and their estate planning in practice.

As president of the Law Society, I also hope that this initiative will highlight to the public the significant benefits of drafting a will, and doing so through solicitors’ firms rather than the unregulated sector. I believe that the profession can step in and provide good estate planning advice, including highlighting the benefits of leaving 10% or more of an estate to charity. You may also choose to get personally involved by making changes to your own estate planning.

Clients who are considering making changes to their wills to take advantage of this change in inheritance tax are likely at the same time to consider making other changes to their wills and would therefore benefit from the professional advice of a solicitor.

I made this point clear to the secretary of state when he asked for the Law Society’s support for this initiative, telling him that given the sensitive and sometimes complex nature of estate planning, Legacy10’s campaign needs to rely on the professional skills of our regulated members.

Overall, Legacy10 is a campaign that I feel is worthy of the profession’s support. It is a simple way for us to use our professional expertise in support of a campaign that will be of benefit to many charities working throughout England and Wales and internationally.

First licences for ABSs grantedLast week the Solicitors Regulation Authority announced the first three practices which have been licensed as alternative business structures. This is a development that the profession has been waiting for since the Legal Services Act laid the groundwork for legal practices to be owned and managed by non-lawyers.

Of the three new ABS licensees, Co-operative Legal Services is already a substantial legal services business with 400 staff and becomes regulated by the SRA for the first time, whereas the other two are existing solicitors’ practices. John Welch & Stammers is a firm with seven fee-earners and 11 support staff and Lawbridge Solicitors has just one solicitor/fee-earner.

The SRA has many other ABS applications under consideration, from a wide variety of organisations. Views vary on how extensively and how quickly these new or reorganised legal practices will change the market. In the course of a single day this week I have heard well-informed predictions, ranging from a total transformation of the high street within months to a modest consolidation over a period of several years.

Notwithstanding the changes taking place in the legal services market, of which ABS is only one element, I have no doubt that well-managed firms, which understand the threats and opportunities they face and are focused on client service, will continue to thrive in the new, more competitive environment. As in any other business, they will succeed, or fail, by identifying their market, getting their message right, communicating it effectively and offering what the customer wants.

Ownership, structure and management are all matters for individual legal practices, but the Law Society will continue to support all solicitors and all practices authorised or licensed by the SRA.

John Wotton is president of the Law Society