As president of the Law Society, I see it as my job to ensure that we solicitors are well equipped for the legal services market of the future.

Like you, I have long been worried by the unwarranted negative perception that surrounds the profession. Lazy stereotypes in the media undermine the excellent work that solicitors do.

Some of this criticism emanates from consumer organisations, many of whom do very useful work directly with our clients. Their aims are often our aims and while not all the criticism is valid, some of it may be. The difficult task is sorting out the constructive criticism from the misconceptions.

To tackle this issue I held a consumer conference aimed at meeting our critics head on and seeking to draw to their attention some of the benefits we offer our clients that no other provider will do.

During the day we wanted to explore with practitioners and representatives of consumer groups where lawyers were getting it right, and where they thought we were getting it wrong. Were theirs and our views justified, and was there a need for change?

Some of the answers were surprising and consumer organisations challenged us on areas we weren’t expecting.

They made the point that after the introduction of alternative business structures (ABSs) some of our unique selling points such as being regulated or having indemnity insurance will no longer exist. Many externally owned ABSs such as the Co-op will seek to capitalise on these very benefits and protections by employing solicitors to do the work.

The consumer organisations felt that we put too high a value on financial protection, integrity and particularly ethics, which although important are not what clients value the most highly.

The consumer organisations believe that customers assume the job will be done well, and what they are really looking for is that the service level meets their expectation and that the work is done within a reasonable timeframe and for a reasonable cost.

As we are all too well aware people dealing with solicitors are often doing so during stressful periods of their life. Clients want empathy, regular and straightforward communication and transparency behind fee structures, which is something that consumer organisations feel solicitors struggle to deliver.

My reaction and that of many of the audience was two-fold. The first I suspect was irritation. We have all had difficult clients in the past for whom we have done a good job and yet remain dissatisfied with our service.

The second, and this was mirrored in the break out groups, was that perhaps we need to focus on these areas more. We all know how to be good lawyers, but do we always know how best to deliver our services?

Shopping around

We also heard how a significant proportion of the general public is growing in its sophistication, with increased access to information about issues before they consult an expert, and used to shopping around for the best deal.

We solicitors will need to focus our attention on the customer’s overall ‘experience’. Customer service and soft skills should be at the heart of new offerings. Have probate solicitors, for example, considered bereavement training?

Up until now I have spoken about ‘consumers’ and ‘clients’ as if they were a homogenous body. But of course they are not. Our clients are individuals with different professional needs and personal expectations.

In the new world, there will be people who are willing to pay more for a ‘designer’ service and there will be people that want ‘easylaw’ – the low cost and no frills option.

There should be a range of legal firms to meet both those demands. However, the fundamentals of good service will remain the same.

Thinking local and being approachable are strong selling points for lots of smaller firms and, indeed, for most firms aiming to grow their practice. During the conference, we heard the example of one legal firm who have replaced their front with glass sliding doors, so that passers-by can see those inside. They have seen their client list increase.

It is just as easy for a smaller firm to have an accessible, informative and understandable website as for a large firm. Or to answer the phone before nine in the morning and five in the evening. Or to be prepared to give clear, upfront information on costs to help clients to make a decision.

At the start of the day I was confident that despite the problems I knew were out there, solicitors were chipping away at some of the negative perceptions surrounding the profession.

After all, research commissioned by the Law Society showed that when questioned nine out of 10 people who had dealings with a solicitor said that they would recommend their solicitor to a friend.

However somebody put forward the premise that people’s expectations are so low that they ‘overmark’ because they are pleasantly surprised.

It was a salutary thing to hear.

So I am even more convinced that the profession must continue to engage with our clients and potential clients, and look for new and innovative ways to improve their client relationship. This will be essential after October, when it is likely that solicitors will face increased competition.

I am clear that there are roles for the Law Society to play in helping to support our members deliver the high levels of service which the overwhelming majority already do. We need to continue to better promote all that the profession has to offer to the widest section of society as possible.

The Law Society will also revise and increase the training on offer for ‘soft skills’ and promote ‘glass windows’ ideas to improve firms’ accessibility to the high street consumer.

We will support changes to the LPC that emphasise the importance of customer services and will carry out mystery shopping exercises to use the outcomes as benchmarks and to make improvements to training.

I want the public to be in no doubt that solicitors offer an unparalleled level of service that they will not be able to find elsewhere.

The bottom line is that without clients there are no solicitors.

Linda Lee is president of the Law Society