Law firm franchise QualitySolicitors is to launch 50 new branches next month, the Gazette can exclusively reveal.

The move signals the next step in the brand’s aggressive expansion strategy, as it seeks to become a ‘household name’ for solicitors.

The 50 new firms to sign up to the scheme include Liverpool firm Jackson & Canter, run by former Law Society president Andrew Holroyd, which will re-brand as QualitySolicitors Jackson & Canter. New franchises will open in towns and cities including: Cardiff; Sheffield; Walsall; Grimsby; Liverpool; Chester; Cheltenham; Doncaster; Ashford; Oldham; and London.

Among the new joiners will be Chester firm Oliver & Co, Kent firm Martin Tolhurst, and Copley, Clark & Bennett in Sutton.

A further 50 franchises are scheduled to rebrand early next year, which will take the total number of QualitySolicitors firms to 115.

The first 15 branches were launched in May this year. QualitySolicitors has said it intends to open a branch on every high street by October 2011.

November’s launch of 50 new branches will be supported by a high-profile national television advertising campaign, voiced by TV presenter Amanda Holden, which will air during primetime shows such as Coronation Street and ITV News at Ten.

Holroyd said: ‘The creation of a national legal services brand is essential if we are to compete with the new entrants to the market next year.’

QualitySolicitors chief executive Craig Holt told the Gazette: ‘Massively increasing our number of fully branded firms will enable us to achieve our goal of becoming the first established household-name brand for legal services.’

Richard Allen, managing partner of QualitySolicitors Lockings, in Hull, said: ‘The key is that QualitySolicitors are not just talking about creating the first recognised legal brand or planning it – they’re actually doing it. QualitySolicitors-branded firms will be able to take a dominant market share locally, as a majority of people search out QualitySolicitors firms for their legal issue.’

Firms using the brand pay an annual membership fee based primarily on the size of the geographical area they will cover. Holt said QualitySolicitors-branded firms typically have a turnover of £2m-5m, are Lexcel-accredited and offer services to private clients as well as small and medium-sized corporates.