Lawyers pride themselves on being part of a profession — a form of work based on long and advanced training. But, in the past two decades, they have been joined by another cohort: alternative legal service providers (ALSPs), who instead talk of being part of ‘an industry’.
This group, which includes the Big Four accounting firms, focus on the work that lies outside the complex legal advice given by law firms. Now, though, legal businesses of all kinds are expanding their offerings to meet growing demand for this work, but in different ways.
ALSPs have had a turbulent history to date, and one not free of hype. However, Liam Brown, chief executive of law company Elevate, says that if the industry initially failed to meet its early potential, that was not because of any problem with the “underlying dynamics”.