Winckworth Sherwood becomes ABS as pace of licensing quickens

Two medium-sized firms, Winckworth Sherwood in London, Oxford and Manchester, and JCP Solicitors in west Wales, have been licensed as ABSs as the pace of approvals by the SRA begins to quicken.

They are joined by two niche personal injury firms, Amelans in Manchester and Mulderrigs in Lancashire, bringing the total number of licences awarded to 14.

Tom Vesey (pictured), partnership secretary at Winckworth Sherwood, said the firm, which has 40 partners and 104 lawyers, became an ABS because two of its partners were non-lawyers.

Vesey, an accountant, is one of them and the other is Christel Aguila, head of IT.

'The prime driver for us in making the change is because if you have non-lawyer partners you must become an ABS. We've just been given the status, after completing a myriad of forms.

'We're not looking for external funding because we feel we can achieve our medium-term business objectives pretty well as we are. But the ABS banner gives us some flexibility if we want to rethink our situation.'

Vesey added that the firm, which he described as a 'multi-niche practice', had no immediate plans to appoint more non-lawyer partners.

He said the firm's best-known niche was probably parliamentary agency work '“ it is currently drafting the legislation for HS2, the planned high-speed rail link between London and the north of England.
Other niches include house-building and social housing, employment, education and ecclestiastical work.

Meanwhile in Wales, JCP Solicitors, a general practice based in Swansea with 18 partners, has become an ABS.

Managing partner Steve Penny said on the firm's website: 'With offices in the Swansea, Whitland, Fishguard and St Davids, JCP Solicitors is one of the largest independent law firms in Wales with 18 partners and a further 87 employees.

'Clients of our firm include businesses and private clients all over England and Wales, including some major high street lending institutions, public sector organisations and well-known private companies alike.'

JCP Solicitors, the trading name of John Collins & Partners LLP, is a general civil practice covering commercial work, employment, family, personal injury, property and private client, with a specialist rural practice.

Two partner niche personal injury practice Mulderrigs Solicitors, based in Rossendale, Lancashire, also becomes an ABS. The firm is a limited company, with director Paul Mulderrig becoming COLP and COFA. The firm's other director is Jo Smith.

Earlier this week specialist personal injury firm Amelans, based in Manchester, became the 11th firm to be licensed as an ABS.

Amelans is unusual in that senior partner Andrew Twambley and newly appointed partner Denise Wilkinson, an accountant, are also directors of claims management company Injury Lawyers 4U.

As part of their ABS license, they have agreed to strict conditions on the operation of Injury Lawyers 4U, including ensuring that the business is non-profit making and the marketing of participating firms by the business does not include paying third parties to refer clients.

However, Twambley told Solicitors Journal that the conditions agreed to were the ones the claims management firm had already adopted when it was set up in 2003.

'We're simply a marketing co-operative with no profit and less than two per cent administration charges,' Twambley said.

He said 47 law firms were members of the Injury Lawyers 4U scheme.

'Because my partner is an accountant, the rules say that we must turn ourselves into an ABS,' he said.

Twambley said the firm had four partners, but only he and Kitchener held equity.

He said the firm had no plans for external investment, but was 'willing to consider any offers that come in'.

He added: 'This is a springboard for the future'.

On its website, Injury Lawyers 4U says: 'There are many 'claims management' companies in Britain, who, in our opinion, are simply 'middle men' seeking to profit from the misfortunes of others.

'In many cases, while they talk about 'no win no fee', their fees when you do win are extremely high, and can cut down the amount of compensation you receive quite dramatically.'