Co-operative Legal Services to restrict PI services under new business plan

The Co-operative group’s struggling legal services division is to restrict its personal injury services to Co-op insurance clients and those with serious injuries.

The news comes after the group admitted that falling revenue from PI work was the predominant reason for the £5.1m loss posted by Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) on 4 September.

Late last year CLS said that it would be slashing half its PI workforce due to falling revenues.

CLS managing director Matt Howells told Legal Futures that despite the disappointing PI figures, the revenue CLS had made from both wills and family law services had doubled in the course of the past year. Probate work had performed very well in particular, which, along with wills, made up around half of CLS’s income, he said.

“Our performance was beyond market expectation, and nine out of 10 of our customers are happy with our service,” he said.

Mark Dugdale