ABS don’t smell (that) bad

(It’s just they don’t smell too good either - says ill-informed respondents to survey)

From the Solicitors Journal 04/06/13:

Students remain in the dark when it comes to changing legal services, says survey.

More than half of law students would not seek work with an ABS, a recent survey has reported.

According to the University of Law's 'ABS Survey', 58 per cent of students said they would not want to work for ABS.

Director of family law and head of professional practice at the Co-operative Legal Services Jenny Beck […] said: "ABS is a very significant development for the legal industry and law students need to be aware of the opportunities it brings."

Read: working as perpetual career paralegal.

Within larger ABSs, said Beck, trainee solicitors have the opportunity to develop not only their core legal skills, but also complementary business skills to further their professional development.

Oh give me strength. “Complementary business skills”? Is this the new “commercial awareness” cliché that has been wheeled out frequently to LPC students, trainees and newly qualifieds for years? I guess all clichés wear out eventually. ;-)

I understand that ABS are here and are unfortunately here to stay, but still. I’m not sure I’d fancy jumping on board just yet, but it doesn’t pay to never say never.

And would a profession chock-full of paralegals be that bad?

Actually… don’t answer that. 

BT Law - Telecoms Services and Legal Advice all in one

From the Solicitors Journal 04/03/13:

BT aims to turn legal services unit from internal cost centre to profit centre as it starts pitching for external business.

Nice idea. Assuming you’ve got some clients who want to pay. ;-)

BT will start offering legal services to corporate customers through its new BT Law Ltd business, which the SRA authorised today as an alternative business structure.

BT Law will incorporate BT Claims, a motor claims management service provided to other companies within the BT group such as BT Fleet, which looks after the group’s 35,000 vehicles.

The intention, [...] is for the service – currently run as a cost centre – to become a profit centre. "BT Law is already working on its first tender for new business[.]"

BT Law will be offered to BT’s existing BT Fleet clients, including The AA, G4S, and Network Rail.

The service will include “an in-house end-to-end motor claims solution for businesses, from incident notification, through investigation and resolution”, BT said in a statement.

In addition, BT Law will offer litigation services provided by an in-house team headed by solicitor and BT group’s head of litigation and employment Miles Jobling.

Jobling, who will become director of BT Law, will supervise a team on 105 staff, including solicitors, legal executives, paralegals, and claims managers.

He said the ABS licence would give BT Law “the perfect platform” to develop the business’s experience and credibility, including the provision of legal services in relation to public liability and employment.

Ah, BT - “it’s good to talk”*. Particularly when you have lawyers charging by the hour!

Subscription TV and now legal services, eh? Talk about diversifying. While BT Law’s services are only being pitched at corporate clients to begin with, this might just be one stop shy of consumers calling into mobile phone shops for legal advice. Is this the concept of ‘Tesco law’ reaching a new low?

As I’m in the mood to digress, I think the new range of BT ads are a huge improvement over the previous era of vacuous monotony (you know, that rather unconvincing story of that bit part actress from spooks and Nick from My Family having a sprog together).  Nobody believed it and nobody cared. 

The collegiate escapades of Simon, Anna (the hot brunette flatmate) and co are a welcome breath of fresh air. Particularly Anna.

Long may it continue.

Where the magic happens

Anna’s Hot Spot

How very modern

^{*Remember this was their strapline during the Bob Hoskins 1990s era of ads. Not quite as inspired as the 1980’s “It’s you we answer to”.}

Legal advice and that personal touch

There’s a lot to be said for the personal touch when it comes to legal advice.

Whilst some types of work can be more suited to high-volume, factory-style delivery of legal services (such as straightforward conveyancing and some uncomplicated personal injury claims) other, more complex matters are still more suited to that one-on-one bespoke service offered by a conventional law firm. And traditional high street firms of solicitors still play a vital role in delivering that.

Even if the Solicitors Regulation Authority pulls its finger out and starts processing an appreciable number of ABS applications, it’s nice to know not everyone is itching to jump on the Tesco law bandwagon at the first opportunity.  The conventional firm of solicitors is worth championing and its role in delivering modern legal services should be celebrated – not ridiculed. 

This video from [enter generic firm of solicitors – ahem] adopts a humorous approach to drive home the message that when it comes to legal services, there’s nothing quite like the personal touch delivered by a conventional law firm. 

[Video Removed ]

Legal Brand Names

… aren’t worth much it seems.

From the Solicitors Journal 17/10/11:

Brands in the legal services market suffer from poor consumer awareness, with nearly half of consumers relying on personal contacts when choosing a provider, a survey has revealed.

When choosing a law firm, 44 per cent said they would ask friends for a recommendation while a further 16 per cent said they would ask professionals they already knew, such as estate agents or accountants.

The most important factor for consumers when making decisions was whether the firm had been recommended by a friend and the total cost to them. Only 15 per cent regarded a ‘trusted brand name’ as the most important factor.

Most of this isn’t at all surprising. Surely the criteria reflect what every client wants from their solicitor: someone well-recommended, trusted, competent and cheap (preferably charging fixed fees).

Hmm – good luck with that one!

So I’m not at all surprised that so many people choose a lawyer through reputation and word of mouth, but I am slightly surprised that the weight attached to a established and trusted legal firm name was so insignificant.

Heck, maybe there is hope for Quality Solicitors after all then! 

APIL, dumb lawyers & civil justice reforms: seeking efficiency but at what price?

From Claims Council.org 18/04/11:

The new president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) today warned of the emergence of a new breed of ‘dumbed-down, legal-lite’ lawyer following the introduction of alternative business structures.

Oh God... that sounds horribly like Mr Bean in a pinstripe suit. Not a pretty sight.

Addressing APIL’s annual conference, David Bott predicted that ‘potentially massive’ new entrants to the personal injury market will be ‘very efficient’, but ‘process-driven’, voicing fears that these ABSs will not prioritise the needs of injured people.

’How much free thought, intellect and empathy will be used by this process-driven lawyer?

Good question. I should imagine that clients want a lawyer who will really cut loose occasionally, undo their top button, loosen their tie, slip on some flip flops and exercise some hardcore lateral thinking – legal style. In all seriousness, though, the personal, professional touch is important in legal services. Claimants don’t want to be kept on hold for twenty minutes listening to Night Fever by the Bee Gees on continuous loop, only for some hopeless moron with a script card in front of him to finally respond to their query with ‘computer says no’ type of answer.

’Ironically, claimants might at first prefer to deal with this new breed of legal-lite adviser, but that happiness may only last until the claimant has a problem, or until their particular, individual injury does not fit into the rigidly defined, immovable process being used by the ABS.

I think this has been a well-established phenomenon. For instance, large ‘wholesale’ businesses handling mass conveyancing services have been slated by many in the past for being cheap and cheerful, but everything can go horribly awry and prove more costly (in time and money) if a curveball is ever thrown their way.  Isn’t this just more of the same?

‘Because these new firms could be like hulking steam trains; fantastic at moving ahead but useless at moving in any other direction.’

Pursuing the analogy, I think the new plans have all the makings of an epic legal train-wreck, and we’re careering towards disaster.

Well, maybe. 

’The only party to benefit from these proposals is the negligent defendant, or moreover his insurance company, which has collected a premium to pay out in the event of a claim.

‘At the heart of these proposals is a movement of costs away from the negligent defendant and on to the innocent claimant. That is just plain wrong.’

And there end’th the lesson for today, children.

Amen.

Lawyers – the circle of life

From Calamities of Nature 15/04/11

That’s aaawwwful! 

Granted, law is supposed to be one of the most despised professions of all, but there are surely worse things someone can do in life.

For instance, your child might always come to you one day and proclaim that they’re not interested in being an astronaut any longer but instead want to be a:

- car salesman,

- estate agent,

- insurance broker,

erm, prostitute ?

In all seriousness, though, is choosing a career in law really that bad?

I was astounded talking to some colleagues recently who, it turned out, a) wouldn’t choose law if they had their time again and b) would definitely discourage their kids from choosing it.

I know Tesco Law ABS might shake things up a bit, but surely the future isn’t THAT gloomy?

Scrap in-store legal reps – bring on the embarrassing legal problem roadshow

From The Law Society Gazette 07/04/11:

Today’s news that QualitySolicitors is to put a member of staff in WHSmithstores throughout the country has provoked a strong reaction from the profession; as any regular visitor the Gazette site would expect.

So how significant is this move to place QS staff in WHSmith stores?

Frankly, QS boss Craig Holt hits the nail on the head when he points out that the deal will ‘fast forward QS to “household name” status years ahead of target’. You bet it will.

True, but that’s not to say it will be a ‘good’ or ‘positive’ household name. Clearly they’re banking on the maxim that all publicity is good publicity will hold true. I’m not convinced it always does for the legal profession.  Heck, just look at Andrew Crossley & ACS:Law.

One of the biggest problems solicitors face is that many people who might want to use their services are actually a bit scared of them.

A consumer research project conducted by the SRA recently found that consumers are ‘in awe’ of the profession.

That might sound complimentary, but in practice it means they are too intimidated to walk into a solicitors’ office and finally get that will written up.

In one canny move, QS has eliminated that problem. Instead of trying to entice reluctant clients through a law firm’s doors, now the brand comes to them instead – in among the two-for-one chocolate deals and paperback books, a place where a smiling employee in a black and pink polo shirt presents customers with just the perfect opportunity to do something about that nagging legal problem.

And that’s the very problem. WHSmith tried placing reps from utility providers in stores a while ago who generally milled around annoying customers who had just popped in for a porn mag copy of the Daily Telegraph. I hate sales people and I know I’m not the only one; most people seem to welcome them as they would a bad case of haemorrhoids.

It doesn’t matter whether that person is a lawyer or not – and in fact will probably work better if they’re not.

It is more important for them to be approachable than knowledgeable (I know commentators won’t like this). All they need to do is tap that appointment into the iPad, and let the qualified lawyers take it from there.

I’m not sure two wrongs make a right. If it takes someone being hassled by a salesperson to realise they need access to justice, their need can’t have been very great in the first place.

But it is hard to see how this deal can be anything other than a very smart move for QS firms; all the better, because now QS has really stolen a march on the non-legal brands that will be looking to exploit their own high street outlets and branches come October.

Boooo, I say.

I’m all for improving transparency and accessibility, but this is terrible.  I think the ‘I need somebody’ billboard campaign for solicitors ran by the Law Society is a good idea – for what that’s worth.   As a campaign it was clear, dignified and relevant.  But placing salespeople in shops to grab customers by the elbow while they’re standing in line to buy a completely unrelated product most certainly is not. 

If it’s suddenly so important to take legal services and the profession to the client, perhaps roadshows for embarrassing legal problems a la the Embarrassing Bodies doctors on Channel 4 would be a better idea. At least that wouldn’t involve getting your naughty bits out on national television, as you lay back, your legs in stirrups, whilst the cameraman pans up towards your nether regions. 

Well, I guess that could be optional. 

Heck, for the overseas episode, you might even persuade a solicitor to take off his Oxfords and socks, roll up his trousers, and walk across the beach looking for clients with a dire legal problem.

Think it’d be a goer?