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DTSTAMP:20260407T163150Z
DTSTART:20221102T151500Z
DTEND:20221102T163000Z
SUMMARY:Alternative business structures – only for common-law law firms?
DESCRIPTION:Traditionally\, law firms were owned and invested in by lawye
 rs to ensure that the firm remained independent and unbiased. However\, 
 this meant firms were restricted to the amount the owners could afford t
 o invest into it. Since the Legal Services Act came into force in 2007 i
 n the UK\, law firms are now able to operate as Alternative Business Str
 uctures (ABS). Most notably\, ABS’s are eligible to receive funding from
  external sources and be managed by non-solicitors. They’re also able to
  provide several services under one brand name – including non-legal ser
 vices. In recent discussions\, we are discovering that mainly common law
  firms are thinking about the possibilities and opportunities given by A
 BS. But where are the civil law firms? May they lose market shares and c
 lients in their own countries when foreign law firms from common law jur
 isdictions offer services under the ABS umbrella internationally? Do cli
 ents interpret ABS as a sign of unreliability\, although there are alrea
 dy plenty of professionals working in traditional law firms that are not
  legally fully qualified yet\, as\, for example\, paralegals? What about
  initiatives in the Common Market and International Trade Agreements tha
 t may be capable to change the professional lives of lawyers in civil la
 w countries (and not only there…)? We will talk with lawyers\, policy ma
 kers and legal tech providers from civil and common law jurisdictions\, 
 to understand where the legal profession stands today and how it will fl
 ow tomorrow in the international legal market on ABS.
LOCATION:Room 208\, Level 2
UID:a26cb75d-a75e-45f3-b4bd-2621ac3d7b1e
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