DLA Piper enters capital of proto-ABS

Magic circle firm DLA Piper has thrown its hat in the ABS ring by buying a minority share in LawVest Ltd, a company set up only last week to deploy 'a market disrupting brand' to exploit the opportunities offered by changes to the legal services market.

The main backers are AdviserPlus Business Solutions, a business started in 2001 by former fund manager Karl Chapman to provide integrated solutions to mid-cap and FTSE100 companies.

Its 'Intelligent Legal' service offers fixed price solutions in commercial law and litigation covering employment and intellectual property through to contract and property, which will form the basis for the new venture.

LawVest says the fragmented character of the £24bn legal services market makes it 'vulnerable to new entrants with no baggage'.

Its model will be based on fixed price offerings 'designed to provide users with price certainty and transparency; two drivers which will become key in the changing legal market.'

Chapman heads up the LawVest board as chief executive. The other executive director is former barrister and banker Adam Shutkever who has come in as chief operating officer.

Sir Nigel Knowles, joint CEO and managing partner of DLA Piper, has been appointed chairman and non-executive director. The fourth board member is David Charters, former diplomat and latterly trader.

Chapman said LawVest and DLA shared a common view about the likely changes in the legal market over the next few years.

LawVest is yet to launch a product but Chapman said the company had "all the advantages of the new entrant".

"We started with a blank piece of paper, built our models from the customer up, have a different cost base and can deliver demonstrable quality," he said,

For Knowles, the move is 'an innovative way of participating in and benefiting from the new environment, while protecting our client's interests in this sector of the market.'

Who's who at LawVest

Karl Chapman (chief executive)

Chapman read law at Birmingham University before joining Guinness Mahon Investment Management (GMIM) in 1985. He left GMIM in 1989 to set up CRT Group plc. The business grew to a market capitalisation of over £600m. Chapman sold a majority stake to Knowledge Universe, a private US based company, before leaving in 2000 to set-up AdviserPlus Business Solutions in 2001. He stepped down as executive chairman on 1 June 2011 on becoming chief executive of LawVest.

Adam Shutkever (executive director and chief operating officer)

Shutkever read Law at Clare College, Cambridge and was called to the Bar in 1986. He joined SG Warburg the following year before moving to Deutsche Bank in 1995 and Accord plc in 2002 as chief financial officer. He led the sale of Accord in 2007 to Enterprise plc, a 3i backed business. In 2008 Shutkever became managing director of Palatium Investment Management, an FSA-regulated investment manager specialising in real estate and related debt investments. He joined LawVest on 1 August 2011.

Sir Nigel Knowles (chairman, non-executive director)

The joint CEO and managing partner of DLA Piper has presided over the growth of the magic circle firm from a regional UK law firm to what is now the world's largest legal practice turning over more that £1bn.

David Charters (non-executive director)

Charters read Modern and Medieval Languages (German and French) at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and, between 1983 and 1985, held various positions at the British embassy in Brussels. He joined SG Warburg in 1985 and Deutsche Bank in 1995. Charters is a founder of Partner Capital where he oversees merchant banking activity, corporate finance advisory and principal investment projects. He is also co-owner of D Group, a networking organisations.