Jon Robins profiles the latest ABS contender
It says something about the febrile state of the legal market at the moment that if a business so much as hints at “going ABS”, they garner press inches. It was interesting to read in the legal press that the outsourcing giant Carillion “could become an alternative business structure” as part of plans to increase its legal services profile. The idea was to transform “a cost centre to a profit centre”.
Regulated activities
Carillion has not applied to become an ABS yet. “At the moment the activities we perform—and that we’re planning to perform—aren’t regulated,” director of legal services Richard Tapp told me. The company hasn’t ruled out taking on ABS status but, as Tapp puts it, “because we aren’t obliged to do so, it seems inappropriate to think of an activity to apply”.
Quite. Is it a matter of time before “regulated activities” are going to be something that Carillion will end up doing? “In all probability, yes,” Tapp said. “The list of regulated activities is quite limited but if you look at Carillion Advice Service
