The introduction of alternative business structures (ABS) for legal firms, the so-called Tesco law system, which comes into effect in England and Wales in October 2011, is feared most by property lawyers who work in residential conveyancing, according to a survey published in the Law Society Gazette.

The degree of anxiety about their personal and professional job security, in replies by more than 300 solicitors who were contacted, was reflected in the areas of law in which they worked.

Of the conveyancing specialists who responded, 53% described ABS as a high level of threat and 40% a medium level out of 93% practising in this sector who said the Government's move was a definite threat to their future work.

Because of the nature of their work, commercial law firms, especially those in London, are expected to be less at risk of competition from the new entrants who will be able take on certain aspects of legal work from next year.

However, even people working in this practice area have some worries, with 64% of survey respondents expressing fears of a medium threat to their businesses although 36% said they had no anxieties.

Generally, the lawyers questioned felt consumers would benefit more from the reforms, which aim to widen choice for simple legal work, than solicitors and their employees.

As with conveyancing solicitors, who fear some of their standard work may be lost, family lawyers are concerned at competition for uncontested divorce cases where much of the administration is routine.

In the survey, 22% of family law solicitors said they felt the ABS changes represented a high level of threat to their futures but 56% showed no concern.

A representative of Contact Law's find-a-solicitor service, which organised the survey, said residential conveyancing solicitors and other property lawyers seemed to be the most apprehensive about the potential harm to their practices.