The Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) is to offer a family law service spearheaded by leading family lawyers from London firm TV Edwards in the first move by a high street brand into the sector, the Gazette can reveal. Christina Blacklaws, Law Society council member for child care and TV Edwards partner, this week began work as a director of CLS to lead the creation of the family law unit.

Jenny Beck, TV Edwards’ managing partner, will head the unit’s professional practice, and Chris May, the firm’s former head of business development and strategy, will lead its business development arm.

Blacklaws and Beck will remain partners at TV Edwards until July 2012, when they will become consultants.

CLS aims to become one of the first alternative business structures licensed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, enabling it to launch its family law service in mid-2012. It will offer a full range of fixed-price family legal services, face to face as well as through ‘a range of innovative options’, and may bid for a legal aid contract in the next tender round.

CLS, established in 2006, is part of the Co-operative Group, the UK’s largest mutual business with a turnover of £13.7bn and over 5,000 retail outlets. It employs more than 400 staff offering personal injury, will-writing, probate and estate administration, conveyancing and employment services. In 2009, it launched an advertising campaign promoting its legal services and aims to become the preferred provider of consumer legal services in the UK. In 2010, CLS reported a profit of £3.9m on a turnover of £24.2m. In the first half of 2011, revenues increased by 22% and profits by 3%.

Blacklaws said the ‘innovative and pioneering’ new service will address current ‘unmet legal need’ in challenging times. ‘We want to make access to legal services better for people by creating and implementing innovative and socially responsible services,’ running high-quality services with ‘fair and transparent pricing’ that the public can have ‘real confidence in’, she added.

‘Family legal problems affect so many people in this country. It is often the worst experience of their lives. We want to help people to get through this by supporting them with sensible child-centred and future- focused legal advice.’

She stressed that the family law service would be led and run by solicitors. ‘The Co-operative sees this as a critical component to deliver the quality of service across all its legal services,’ she said.

Beck said: ‘The Co-operative is a trusted brand and will be a trusted adviser. We will aim to secure access to justice for all at a time when public-funded services are contracting.’

CLS managing director Eddie Ryan said: ‘We are working extremely hard with the SRA in preparation for the introduction of ABSs and we look forward to being able to provide a full range of legal services to our members and customers.’

The group’s deputy chief executive Martyn Wates said the Legal Services Act will change the way in which legal services are provided. ‘We believe that the presence of The Co-operative’s trusted brand in the marketplace, together with a combination of first-class products and services, will provide customers with greater accessibility and better value for money,’ he said.

Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson said: ‘Ventures such as this are part of the future of the UK legal sector. The involvement of such respected practitioners in such a venture should increase confidence in the ABS model.’

Read an interview with Christina Blacklaws.