Mourant Ozannes opens in BVI

Mourant Ozannes, one of the world's leading offshore law firms, has announced the opening of a BVI office, to be headed by 3 partners.  The office will offer corporate, fund, insolvency, regulatory and litigation services.

Mourant Ozannes already offers Jersey, Guernsey and Cayman legal advice, so the addition of a BVI capability ensures it covers the key offshore international finance centres.

BVI remains a very popular jurisdiction for company and fund formation, with over 500,000 companies on its corporate register.

Co-op to offer £99 divorces

In a week when the papers were reporting that two lawyers had between them squandered almost the entirety of their joint assets in thrashing out an acrimonious divorce, the Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) has announced an initiative which promises low cost, jargon free family law advice on a fixed fee basis.

The service range will cover divorce, child protection, mediation and financial issues.

CLS are starting initially with a London-based team of 22 lawyers, but intend to have five regional hubs up and running shortly.  The services will be marketed through its 2,800 local supermarkets and 350 bank branches, giving CLS a significant advantage over its private practice competitors in terms of brand-awareness. They have gone public previously with a stated aim to revolutionise the provision of legal services in the UK, and to create 3,000 new jobs in the sector.

It is rumoured that CLS will offer plain vanilla divorces for a fixed fee of just £99, and pre-nups for £950.

Martyn Wates, deputy group chief executive of The Co-operative Group, said: “As a trusted, ethical and approachable provider offering real value for money we intend to bring a refreshingly different approach to family law. At a time of major changes in legal aid, we believe it’s vital to make it as easy as possible for people to gain access to justice. We are doing this by providing an innovative approach that will appeal to those who are currently reluctant to access family law services.”

LDC pip Bowmark to the post on Keoghs?

Insurance law firm Keoghs has confirmed that once it receives its alternative business structure (ABS) licence it will take external investment from a private equity investor.  This will come as no surprise to many, as the firm stated as far back as February 2012 that it was in exclusive talks with Bowmark Capital regarding investment.  However, what may come as more of a surprise is that, according to the Manchester Evening News, it is not Bowmark but LDC, part of the Lloyds Banking Group which will be partnering with Keoghs if SRA give their consent to the deal.  According to the paper, LDC trumped Bowmark’s offer late in the day.

Keoghs are for the moment remaining silent on the identity of the investor, although they have confirmed that they have reached agreement with a party, subject to SRA approval.

Keoghs is a defendant insurance claims specialist with 1,000 employees across offices in Bolton and Coventry. Established in 1968, the firm represents insurers and councils and reported fee income of £55m in 2011.

The external funding that they are seeking will be targeted at accelerating the development of complementary services and further investment in people, processes and infrastructure.