By Neil Rose


Multi-disciplinary partnerships and non-lawyer investment in law firms are set to become a reality next year under government plans for a limited early introduction of alternative business structures (ABSs), the Gazette can reveal.



The government is to lay amendments to the Legal Services Bill that would allow law firms to have up to 25% non-lawyer partners; the non-lawyer partners would also be allowed to invest in their practices.



However, non-lawyer partners would be limited to offering services ancillary to the work of a legal practice, such as tax advice and property selling.



The government says the changes will enable early consumer benefits of ABSs. The Law Society has lobbied for such partnerships for some years.



It is unlikely that full ABSs will come into being until 2011 at the earliest because a new licensing regime needs to be set up. However, legal disciplinary partnerships between the different types of lawyer do not require licensing and can come into being as soon as the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) creates rules to deal with them. The latest changes will be an extension of them.



SRA chief executive Antony Townsend said the authority welcomed the proposal. He added: 'This week the SRA board is considering a draft timetable and principles for the introduction of entity-based regulation, and we intend to consult on that shortly. Extensive consultation and preparation will be needed to ensure that the public interest is protected. The first changes are therefore unlikely to occur before the end of 2008.'



Law Society President Andrew Holroyd said: 'We have argued for many years that law firms should be able to include aminority of non-solicitor partners. We are very pleased that the government has agreed to change the Bill to enable that to happen quickly. This will bring benefits both to the public and to the profession.'



The government has performed u-turns on some key issues, including requiring the Lord Chancellor to consult with the Lord Chief Justice on appointments to the Legal Services Board.



Conservative solicitor Lord Hunt of Wirral, who chaired the select committee which scrutinised the draft Bill, welcomed the government's concessions but - with the parliamentary timetable looking tight - said there must be time to debate them properly.



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