If I were a lawyer faced with planning the future of my business at the same time as carrying out my day job, I think I’d feel exhausted, bewildered and not a little terrified.For some time the pundits have been telling us there are too many lawyers and too many law firms and the majority of legal work can be done without a lawyer anyway.

The enormity of the challenges faced by law firms with the increased use of technology, outsourcing and commoditisation, plus competition from non-legal providers entering the legal market following the Legal Services Act, were outlined by three of the country’s foremost law firm advisors at the Law Society’s law management conference last week.

Richard Susskind, Stephen Mayson and Alan Hodgart all urged firms not to bury their heads in the sand, but to be proactive in getting to grips with understanding the finances of their firms and to plan for the future.

Thankfully, for the legal profession, most lawyers are braver than I – a poll taken at the conference showed 84% of the 150 or so delegates saw the use of technology and commoditisation as an opportunity.

And some parts of the profession have already begun to fight back against the prospect of ‘Tesco law’, forming joint branding and marketing initiatives to promote the use of ‘real lawyers’. QualitySolicitors.com launches its campaign officially next week after signing up 100 law firms.

But can these self-styled legal brands, like QualitySolicitors.com or The Legal Alliance, really hope to compete in the public’s consciousness with the likes of Tesco, the AA and the Co-op?