High street solicitors can survive in the post-Legal Services Act market, but need a more creative approach to pricing, branding and service delivery, according to a group of key industry figures.
At a roundtable debate last week marking the launch of Shopping Around, a report published by legal research company Jures, solicitors were warned that they could face bankruptcy if they fail to address these issues.
Tony Williams, partner at Jomati consultants, said: ‘We lost 1,000 law firms last year. That figure will double this year, partly due to professional indemnity insurance costs, not just the Legal Services Act.’
Williams said firms need to reorganise themselves to bring down their costs, and should look at whether some work could be done by unqualified staff.
But Tina Williams, senior partner at City firm Fox Williams, said cost will always be viewed by consumers as too high, because they do not want to buy legal services in the first place.
She said the biggest issue for law firms would be access to capital to compete with new entrants to the market.
The panellists noted that, over recent months, some firms have joined together in networks to pool their marketing resources and create a greater brand awareness.
Neil Kinsella, chief executive at national firm Russell Jones & Walker, said: ‘It’s more complicated than just creating a brand.
‘If solicitors are banding together to take over a market that they have already got, all they’re effectively doing is scrabbling for market share and then paying somebody in the middle to do the marketing.’
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