The criteria for AIBL membership are all designed to ensure the EXPERTISE AND INDEPENDENCE of each AIBL member:
EXPERTISE
• Members must be qualified lawyers but can be ‘non-practising’ solicitors (see FAQ – what’s a ‘non-practising solicitor?), barristers, trade mark attorneys, legal executives, etc.
• Members must be specialised in an area of business law and have practised exclusively for at least 10 years in that area.
• Members must meet the rigorous quality standards required and must have been carefully assessed and selected by our specialist selection panel.
INDEPENDENCE
• Members must operate completely independently as a business, either operating on their own account or through a company owned by them.
• Members must have their own website and/or digital presence, and must actively promote their own business brand.
• Members may not take on legal staff as employees (although they are free to refer or sub-contract work to other legal specialists where this is in their clients' interests). This to ensure that the client always deals with the AIBL member who is the subject matter expert, rather than being pushed down to junior lawyers to fund payroll costs/feed the monster. And it avoids the inefficient duplication and added cost inherent in being given a 'team' of lawyers (expensive junior lawyers or expensive partners) to deal with your case.
• Members must have no restrictions on referring their clients to any other specialist lawyer (AIBL member or otherwise) or any other expert if they think it might be in their clients’ interests to do so.
• Members may occasionally provide their services through ‘normal’ law firms (which may sub-contract with them to obtain the benefit of their specialist services for their clients) or through ‘virtual’ law firms (see FAQ – what’s a ‘virtual’ law firm?) provided that their independence is not compromised.