Many solicitors have deep-seated suspicions concerning the external finance that law firms are now allowed to seek out. This week that interest is focused on the pioneering acquisition - subject to SRA approval - of Liverpool firm Silverbeck Rymer by AIM-listed Quindell Portfolio.

Some of those suspicions centre on the issue of the effect on lawyers’ ethics of their firm answering to a wider range of stakeholders. Clients, so the argument goes, will find themselves deprioritised.

But there is concern in parts of the legal market too - that traditional firms will simply be outgunned (it is assumed) following enormous injections of cash into firms which exploit these new opportunities.

It needs to be borne in mind that this is a big assumption to make. Remember that clients are also put at risk by law firms that fail financially, and let down by firms which are not in a position to invest in staff, service and equipment. Cashflow is a challenge for many otherwise viable firms. And, as many partners know, time spent managing the hard core of a large and growing overdraft is a huge distraction from business plans and client care.

We should, therefore, be in no rush to judge firms that see opportunities in external investment.