Axiom, Lawyers On Demand, Obelisk, Vario — just a few of the flexi-lawyer businesses that have in recent years flourished on a shared ethos: challenging traditional law firms by delivering flexible legal support to major companies at competitive prices.

But is an incoming piece of U.K. tax legislation about to end their once-unfettered ascendance?

Over the past decade, the flexi-lawyering industry has boomed as an alternative to expensive, rigid traditional private practice law firms that in-house counsel had grown weary of.