Townshends partner goes solo
Birmingham solicitor Jayne Willetts has set up the city’s "first dedicated professional regulation" law firm. Willetts decided to go solo “to develop a niche offering” after leaving her role as a partner at law firm Townshends.
Jayne Willetts & Co will offer advice to legal service providers including solicitors, barristers, legal executives, costs draftsmen and licensed conveyancers, as well as other professionals facing regulatory challenges.
Willetts has spent the last three years as a partner at Townshends, and prior to that, spent 16 years as partner for national law firm Hammonds.
She will be joined at the firm’s Jewellery Quarter base by consultant Matthew Moore, who advises law firms on practice management and professional compliance issues.
Willetts said that the move was prompted by the rise in misconduct cases and the introduction of alternative business structures next year, which will result in additional regulatory burdens for all professionals.
She said: “The recession has seen a rise in misconduct cases, in particular mortgage fraud and the increase in the use of client funds to subsidise ailing practices.
"Some firms are also pushing the boundaries of regulation in an attempt to secure more work, whilst others are trying to establish alternative business structures in advance of their introduction in October next year.”
