Alternative Business Structures seminar prompts talk of change among legal firms
Wednesday 27th July 2011
In June, Buzzacott’s Professional Practices Group ran a seminar entitled “Alternative Business Structures: a Pot of Gold, or not?” To help answer the question, we surveyed mid-tier law firms for their views on ABS and are now talking to a number of them about the findings.
These include re-visiting corporate structures – among them, the hybrid Limited Liability Partnership where one or all partners become, in effect, a limited company – but also looking at the attractions of incorporation now that income and corporate tax rates are diverging.
Other areas of opportunity or concern fall broadly under the heading of housekeeping: the cost of retaining capital and finding ways to structure it more cheaply; valuing internal goodwill so that it can be accessed; reviewing business plans to include the realisation of capital value, and using equity and profits to access funding.
Meanwhile a natural awareness of threats from litigation and a harshly competitive environment were evident in two further priorities: practice protection and succession, and the formation of network structures with a common legal focus.
You will be hearing more from the Group on these important issues in the coming weeks.
Cliff Cooper