New Age law

The legal market has long been behind other, more commercial, markets in evolving and developing to meet clients’ (dare I say customers’) needs and to a point we have been restricted until relatively recently in terms of advertising etc.

More restrictive, however, has been our habit of clinging to “the way that we have always done it” – I speak of the mystique of hourly rates, rafts of paperwork and a reliance on being the “family solicitor”.

For a time, the people working in the law have dictated the way the market works but that is changing – both as a result of consumer demands and frustrations and as a result of legislative changes - bringing into the mix ABS (Alternative Business Structures/Co-op Law etc.) and removing the public’s recourse to Legal Aid.

It is not the quality of advice or service that has been provided previously that is the issue - and I am proud to be part of a profession who on the whole provide very high quality in that regard - but it is the way in which the advice/service is delivered and the “givens” that legal professionals have been able to rely upon previously that are changing.

In this “New age” legal market how are we to respond?

This is now the question that many law firms are facing – how do they deliver their high quality service and advice in a way that matches consumer expectations and demands and how do they manage that and the sometimes competing demands of the business itself.

Some Challenges…

Lawyers understand the hourly rate and are comfortable with it as a concept but in a world of uncertainty, and especially in situations where solicitors are required, customers want certainty – they want to know at the outset how much it will all cost.

That is sometimes very difficult to achieve without over estimating (with the result of the customer either not taking action or feeling even worse about their situation) or under estimating (leaving the business at risk of losing revenue).

In the “instant response” world that we now live in, security of client information is an increasing issue and lawyers must balance that with the variety of ways that consumers now expect to be able to communicate with their solicitor (e-mail, text, smartphones, Skype etc.) People may also now expect instant advice but that must be balanced with the need for the Solicitor to allow proper time to consider the issues in hand – negligent, inaccurate or incomplete advice is not what anybody wants.

The current economic climate doesn’t help matters – just as a double dip recession is announced consumers will be reluctant to take time out of their working day to take advice – preferring instead to see solicitors out of hours or on their own time.  Employer firms will have to consider lone working policies, flexible working hours and remote working amongst other issues.

Consumers will also be more mindful of their spending – perhaps delaying taking action that would incur costs or seeking out a cut price service. This might be a false economy and the concern must be that more costly action might be required to rectify problems down the line as a result – coming full circle to the above challenges!

But Wait….

Whilst this change in the legal market will undoubtedly be challenging it must surely also been seen as quite an exciting opportunity.

Lawyers are taught to think creatively by nature – it’s all in the application and interpretation – so I see this next phase in legal services as an opportunity to do just that – be creative about how services are delivered.

In fact, it has been quite liberating to have to think outside the box in that area and developing new ways of working and new fee structures has been high on my list of recent activity.

Yes, there will be serious questions to be answered and, yes, it will be uncomfortable for some but the profession has long been criticised for being closed, opaque and difficult to deal with – we’ve all heard the stereotypes about costs, lawyers making matters more difficult and generally being unapproachable – now’s our chance to change that image (inaccurate as it may be).

I’m sure also that I’m not alone in saying that one of the reasons that I decided to embark on a career in the law was to help people through some really difficult problems, achieve fairness or protect them from ever having to encounter those preventable difficulties. It is easy to forget that in day to day practice but here – especially in my practised area, Family Law – is an opportunity to really help people - not in the provision of the advice itself, which I have been doing for some years now, but in the delivery of it.