Filing reveals details of DLA partners with stakes in fixed-fee legal services venture

Full financial details of the stakes held by DLA Piper partners in LawVest – the holding company behind fixed-fee venture Riverview Law – have been revealed in a filing which breaks down the ownership of the business.

The share details, filed with Companies House in June, reveal the size of individuals' stakes in LawVest and follow controversy at the law firm after it emerged earlier this year that DLA's partnership had not been fully informed about the investments.

DLA joint CEO and managing partner Nigel Knowles' stake in the business comprises 333 ordinary shares and 2,333 additional shares held by the trustees of his pension fund, amounting to a 0.9% stake.

London international restructuring head Stephen Halladay and independent director Sean Mahon both have more than 1,000 shares, while Leeds corporate head Jonathan Procter, London restructuring head Michael Fiddy and London consultant Bruce Westbrook – the firm's former international corporate head – also have smaller shares in the business.

The six stakes, which equate to a total share in the business of about 2.5%, are held alongside a 21% stake owned by DLA as an entity.

All stakes are correct as of 27 May at which point 298,926 shares had been issued for either £1 and £30. However, further shares have been since issued by LawVest.

Other shareholders in LawVest include Outer Temple Chambers' Richard Lissack QC and Andrew Spink QC – both of whom are members of Riverview's chambers arm – as well as former DLA senior partner Roger Lane-Smith, who retired in 2005 and took up a consultancy role.

LawVest, which was set up last May to take advantage of opportunities presented by the Legal Services Act, formally launched under the trading name Riverview Law in February to offer fixed-fee legal advice via its two arms, Riverview Solicitors and Riverview Chambers.

The filing shows that chief executive Karl Chapman owns a 7.5% stake in the business, alongside a 9.6% share for chief operating officer Andrew Shutkever.

LawVest shares – DLA breakdown
(Shareholder, total shares, percentage stake)

DLA Piper, 62,500, 21%
Nigel Knowles, 333 (plus 2,333 pension fund shares), 0.9%
Jonathan Procter, 500, 0.17%
Bruce Westbrook, 333, 0.1%
Stephen Halladay, 1,166, 0.4%
Sean Mahon, 1,666, 0.6%
Michael Fiddy, 833, 0.3%

Other major shareholders listed in the filing

AdviserPlus Business Solutions, 62,500, 21%
Adam Shutkever, 28,632, 9.6%
Karl Chapman, 22,473, 7.5%
Stelio Stefanou, 16,666, 5.6%
Commercial Barristers Direct, 9,808, 3.3%
David Charters, 8,965, 3%