Eimear McCartan - Trainee Solicitor - Corporate
The topical issue of Alternative Business Structures (ABSs) came to the fore once again on the front page of this week’s issue of the Law Society Gazette.
The chief of law firm DLA Piper, Sir Nigel Knowles, has voiced warnings about the potential consequences the upcoming introduction of ABSs will have when introduced on the 6th October this year.
The introduction of ABSs means the entire system of ownership for legal services will undergo a potentially dramatic change as for the first time non-lawyers can invest in and own legal businesses. Up until now, lawyers have been the sole owners of legal businesses. Under the new regime introduced under the Legal Services Act 2007, ownership of legal services will open up to anyone deemed ‘fit and proper’ depending on their share of ownership of the business.
Some are in favour of the new system of ownership, welcoming the fact this will increase competition between existing legal firms and introduce new entrants to the market, thus benefiting the client and driving down prices. Supporters have also highlighted the fact it will open up new doors for solicitors themselves, increasing career options and broadening the scope of the profession.
However, those in opposition have strongly voiced their concerns over the impending introduction of the regime. Critics suggest that introducing non-lawyers into the market could undermine the quality of the entire legal profession. Some major supermarkets, banks and insurance companies have already expressed an interest in participating in the sector, which has led some to dub the introduction of ABSs as ‘Tesco law.’ In addition, some see the change as yet another front to be fought, with law firms already battling a depressed market, legal aid cuts and the Jackson reforms. Many predict that the introduction of ABSs will sound the death knell for small high street firms unable to compete with the giants of the retail sector. Read more »
Mark Briegal - Partner & Partnership Law Expert
On Wednesday 11th May the LLP seminar will be returning to Manchester.
The tour has included Nottingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, Leeds and London, advising business owners of the opportunities and pitfalls of LLPs.
The number of Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) in the UK has reached an all-time high and business owners are invited to attend the interactive seminar at the Digital World Centre, Salford Quays.
The financial strains of the recession have put a lot of pressure on business partnerships and LLPs are a way of protecting all involved parties’ assets. This has resulted in the number of LLPs in the UK increasing by almost 50% in the past four years, according to figures released from Companies House.
The LLP seminar will provide business owners in Manchester with practical advice on all the things they need to consider before forming an LLP.
The seminar will help businesses decide if an LLP is the right decision for their firm, explain the process of forming this type of partnership, as well as looking into the pitfalls of LLPs. Read more »
The Bribery Act is due to come into force in April 2011 with a short consultation period which will begin and conclude some time before that date. The Act introduces four new offences:
1. Active bribery including giving or offering a bribe in the private or public sector
2. Passive bribery including agreeing to receive or accept a bribe, which also applies in the public or private sector.
3. An offence of bribing a foreign public official
4. A corporate offence which applies when a commercial organisation fails to prevent bribery Read more »
Tags: bribery, bribery act, HMCE, money laundering, MTEC Fraud, PoCA, proceeds of crime act, solicitors manchester, stephen fox
Business Law, Crime & Fraud, Partnership Law | Ralli | 
August 18, 2010 5:31 pm | 
Comments (0)
Ralli continued a successful start to 2010 with Marketing Executive, Robert Illidge, awarded a Commendation in the Emerging Marketer of the Year category.
Robert was awarded for embracing web 2.0 strategies allowing Ralli to share our expertise using digital outlets and establishing an excellent social media presence, including the use of Twitter and LinkedIn.
The results of the 2010 Drum Marketing Awards were revealed at the gala black tie awards ceremony held at the Ramada Manchester, rewarding those who had shown marketing excellence. Read more »
(L-R) Adrian Anderson, Deborah Rainford, Stephen Fox
Solicitor Deborah Rainford has been appointed as president of the Manchester Junior Chamber of Commerce to lead the organisation’s ambitious growth plans.
Deborah, a specialist in business law at Manchester law firm Ralli, was officially appointed as President at the Chamber’s Annual General Meeting on 22nd April 2010.
Her plans include to increase individual and corporate membership, raise the profile of the organisation and position the Chamber as an essential resource for the business community in Manchester. Read more »
Tags: business law solicitor, manchester junior chamber of commerce, manchester solicitors, mjcc, mjcc agm, paul nielsen
Business Law, Crime & Fraud, Employment, Intellectual Property, Partnership Law, Personal Injury, Property | Ralli | April 23, 2010 3:07 pm | Comments (0)
I recently read from two news sources that Twitter are closer to introducing advertising on their site, whether this is search or tweet-based.
Rob Illidge (Marketing Executive)
Search-based ads will use DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) technology to scan a users tweets and relay ‘relevant’ and targeted ads back.
I suppose you could argue what is the problem with that? If I was desperately seeking an Employment Solicitor, not that I would 
, and vented my frustrations via Twitter, I would be more than happy to have a targeted ad from a Manchester based Solicitor delivered.
After all I’m using their platform so they are entitled to pursue revenue in this way.
Then there is the privacy issue. There’s always a privacy issue.
Why should Twitter ‘bombard’ users with ads that may not be relevant? And what if these ads take me to somewhere I thought I was buying ‘genuine UGG boots’ from, and ultimately ruin my online experience as a result. Read more »
Tags: employment solicitor, facebook, privacy, robert illidge, solicitors manchester, twitter, ugg boots
Business Law, Crime & Fraud, Employment, Intellectual Property, Partnership Law, Personal Injury, Property | Ralli | March 3, 2010 3:44 pm | Comments (0)
Gillian Nuttall (PR & Marketing Manager)
Happy New Year. Twenty ten…. what are you going to call it? Two thousand and ten or, twenty ten? I personally, am going with two thousand and ten, simply because it sounds less like a boy band than “2010″.
Just before Christmas I attended a networking lunch in Liverpool with a few of my colleagues from Ralli and some clients. As well as a networking event, the organiser, Chris Shirling-Rooke treats the events as an opportunity to do some fund raising for a couple of his chosen charities, Help for Heroes and Factor 50. The Christmas lunch was the turn of Factor 50. Read more »
Tags: factor 50, gillian nuttall, martin coyne, stuart page
Business Law, Crime & Fraud, Employment, Intellectual Property, Partnership Law, Personal Injury, Property | Ralli | January 4, 2010 4:16 pm | Comments (0)
A day after my hasty Blog post, the Golden Twit Awards gallery was uploaded.
Further pictures can be found at www.goldentwits.com as well as the full broadcast of the nights events.
Anyway I digress, here is a picture of Mr Kuncewicz (IP & Media Lawyer) and I, collecting our commendation.
Rob Illidge (Marketing Executive)
I was going to wait until pictures of the nights events were uploaded, but wait any longer… I cannot. Read more »
Rob Illidge (Marketing Executive)
Surprisingly, this is my first post to the Ralli Blog, simply because I have been tweeting more than Katie Price’s Blackberry.
Read more »
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