Irwin Mitchell in Telegraph link-up

The firm has traditionally offered commoditised legal services through major insurers such as Aviva and LV, but this is the first time it has signed up a media outlet as a distribution channel.

Irwin Mitchell head of insurance Joe Simpson said: “For Irwin Mitchell it broadens the channels and echoes the new ways in which legal services will be delivered [after the Legal Services Act (LSA)]. It’s the first post-LSA move for a newspaper brand.”

Simpson said the firm had seen a significant increase in the number of high street brands looking to move into the commoditised legal services area.

“In the past six months we’ve begun a number of negotiations with some big brands,” he said. “This is just the beginning for us. We’re a firm looking for growth and this is where we see it coming from.”

Irwin Mitchell has made no secret of its post-LSA ambitions. The firm lobbied on a government level to have the LSA ­implemented sooner so it would be ­better placed to compete with new entrants into the sector.

Last month the firm opened a base in Bristol in a bid to break into the South West legal market (The Lawyer, 16 Feburary).