Back in February I wrote a feature for In Business about why the shrinking number of legal IT vendors of a certain size is fundamentally a good thing for law firms – essentially because those that remain are pretty much all going down the Microsoft route (barring vendors like Axxia, that is).

It was an edited version of an article in the current Law Society's Software Solutions Guide called ‘Customers, now is your time’. I’m standing by those articles – I firmly believe that standardisation at the platform level with Microsoft technologies behind it will benefit most law firms, as the R&D needed to make ‘new’ legal IT software is passed up the chain to the Redmond giant and away from small, local/regional IT companies. That will, in turn, encourage other companies to compete with them, because the cost of getting involved will come down.

However, I’m always open to opposing views, and I’ll even publish them. Stephen Attwell, IT manager at the Ipswich branch of south east firm Attwells Solicitors, wrote in after reading the Software Solutions Guide to say:

‘I agree and support much of what you said. However, I take issue with your conclusion that the negotiating pendulum has swung in favour of the client and away from the legal practice/case management suppliers. This has not been my recent experience.

‘As you point out in your article, small independent legal software applications have been purchased as an inevitable rationalisation of this marketplace. The result is a few conglomerates offering their various component businesses of forms, information, directories, accounts and case management. To meet their assumed strategy of integrated one-stop shop providers, much development and marketing work has still to be done. But, more importantly, I suspect these conglomerates are facing financial pressures as they almost certainly paid top dollar buying these components, and in today’s economic conditions must be financially nursing these investments.

‘For new start-up legal businesses (if there are any at the moment) the picture you paint would apply. However, for those of us with existing applications, there is the inevitable investment in skills, software licenses, processes and existing contracts that forms an inertia to change. The suppliers recognise this and I believe are prepared to tough it out. I have seen only a hardening of attitudes and worse from suppliers with their account management staff under pressure to achieve sales and maximise cash.

‘It is unrealistic to suggest that, in the current financial climate, we now have greater ability to significantly improve our deals and get better value for our money than we ever did. Our situation will get worse as these suppliers push towards a monopolistic market. More useful to us now would be practical advice on meeting this challenge.’

I hear you, Stephen. You’re right that the short-term impact of the legal IT market consolidation is causing some almost anti-customer behaviour. But you wanted some practical advice on meeting this challenge, and this is it: you’re getting an object lesson in poor customer service. Say so. Say you’ll leave them the first opportunity you get if they don’t get pleasant, pronto. Be prepared to carry out that threat. Leaving an IT vendor can be really hard to do, but it’s not impossible.

It is a shame any vendor or scenario can make you feel this way. But it’s not right and you should tell it to them straight. And if they’re not listening, ask to speak to the MD and tell him (or her). That should get some attention. And this won’t last – bad companies, once others can compete with them, end up on the scrapheap.