After the Legal Services Act 2007 went live on 3rd January 2012, there has already been developments in the legal market. Australia's Slater & Gordon, the world's first listed legal practice, is to enter the UK market after agreeing to buy national law firm Russell Jones & Walker for £53.8m, it announced to the Australian Stock Exchange earlier this week.

With other law firms such as Plexus Law and Irwin Mitchell also having expressed their interests in coming to the market as ABSs, there is no doubt that the legal profession is about to change drastically. Competition between firms will increase, the market will grow and it has been argued that this should be advantageous to consumers, with easier access to a wider range of services.

Watch this space...