The Group was born out of frustration with the Law Society of Scotland’s delays in implementing Alternative Business Structures (or Licensed Legal Service Providers) in Scotland.

By 2025, there had already been a 15-year delay in implementation following on from the Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2010. There was hope that the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025 would speed the process up. However, instead, the Law Society of Scotland announced a freeze of at least another two years on doing anything at all on ABS.

Formation

A number of Scottish law firms and other organisations or individuals with an interest in ABS in Scotland, whether as possible market entrants, funders, strategic advisers or others, met in September 2025 to form the ABS Scotland Group, which launched officially on 24 November 2025.

Objective

The main objective of the Group is to encourage and facilitate the introduction of ABS to Scotland.

The Group’s desire is to work with the Law Society of Scotland, if possible, to achieve, sooner rather than later, ABS in Scotland.

Benefits

The benefits of ABS are:

• Recognition for Non-Lawyer Employees
• Succession
• Access to Investment for Growth and Innovation
• Diversity
• Consumer Benefits
• Parity with England & Wales

Join

The main reason given by the Law Society of Scotland for putting ABS on hold for another two years was “limited interest” expressed by their members. However, they never asked their members. By joining the ABS Scotland Group, you can demonstrate that this is untrue and that there is in fact significant interest in ABS in Scotland.

You can join the ABS Scotland Group by completing the membership application form.