Guest Blogs from our member Firms This Week

Sheffield Wills and Probate Solicitors Lewis Francis Blackburn Bray have posted a blog recently about Wills and what to do if you cant find one

http://www.lfbbsolicitors.co.uk/help-i-cant-find-my-parents-will/

Trident Solicitors of Hull specialise in Motoring and Traffic Law. Read their opinion piece about the Motoring lawyer from Scotland caught driving at 105 MPH on a motorway.

http://www.tridentsolicitors.co.uk/wordpress/105mph-and-he-still-cant-get-away/

Innovation is anything, but business as usual

I wasn't at this week's Legal Futures conference which is a shame as Neil Rose and his team always put on a good event with good speakers. I usually get the chance to catch up with a group of people who care passionately about the future of legal services even if very few of them are practising as lawyers but advising law firms on what to do. 

Luckily the twitter feed produced almost a running commentary to the Conference, entitled "2020 Vision", an attempt at predicting the future landscape, so I felt like I was following the flow of the event. What follows is my summary of the event as I saw it unfold in tweets. 

The overriding feeling is that, with the exception of Quality Solicitors, most of the brands and networks that appeared at earlier events were not present. I include HighStreetLawyer in that summary. We stayed away as our target audience of small law firms tend not to attend such conferences and our business model of targeting consumers has changed. However, new businesses attempting to mimic the arguable success of Quality Solicitors were present. Alex MIlls, of Apprentice fame. claimed that branding is everything and legal services are no exception. From my twitter communications I understand that he has 20-30 firms paying £600 per month. The Dynamo Legal site is undergoing maintenance so I will watch that space with interest. My cynicism tells me that he is unlikely to find that many firms willing to part with over £7,000 per year. 

The tweets I read about Quality Solicitors confused me further. Their newly promoted President and Founder Craig Holt appeared to claim both that "consistency of delivery of service is key" and that "it is the individual personality of the local member firms" that consumers value. Can consistency and individuality be delivered at the same time? 

Overseas brands continue to look at the UK market as a place ripe for investment. The latest is Jacoby and Meyers the largest consumer law firm in the US. Although they are hoping to build on the success of Slater and Gordon, their own Managing Attorney, Gabe MIller, admits that "it's not a given that we are going to succeed". 

Interesting models for law firm ownership were discussed by firms such as iSolicitor, Schillings and SAS Daniels. They all seem to understand the problems faced by the legal profession but, unless I missed something  which is possible, not having been at the event, nothing seemed to be truly innovative. 

So, for the time being at least, I will make two promises to myself; The first is to continue to build a network of small law firms who can collaborate on issues of importance to them and share strategy, ideas, problems and leads and to make sure that I attend Legal Future's next event in person. Reading the tweets is all well and good but nothing can make up for being there in person. 

For another view on the day, from someone who was there read http://www.conscious.co.uk/site/about/davidsblog/blogpost/Legal_Futures_2020_vision_conference.html

Don’t spend your money joining a legal brand – Four other things small law firms must do instead

When we established HighStreetLawyer.com we set out to do two things. To create a recognizable consumer brand for legal services and create a network of small local high street solicitor firms. We thought, following the introduction of the Legal Services Act and the liberalisation of the profession that both of these approaches were needed. We were wrong! The consumers of legal services whether private individuals or businesses do not want or need a unified legal brand. Legal services do not need to be provided by household names. The world is not ready for big brand law. What consumers want is good quality advice and assistance delivered locally at transparent prices in a consistent manner with a focus on great customer service.

More small law firms are finding it difficult to get insurance which will result in them going out of business by the end of this year. Other firms are being forced to close due to bad financial planning. Many firms don’t know where their next piece of work is coming from so instead of spending time on marketing to get more work, they cut costs even further making it difficult to service any work if it does come in. Work received from referral companies, if firms even receive any leads, is considered by many firms as low quality and many don’t even bother to return the calls, creating a downward spiral of externally referred work. None of these problems facing small law firms are new. They have just been brought into sharp focus because of the Legal Services Act, liberalization of the market and the changes in regulation and the insurance market.

With big brand law currently dead in the water, small law firms should be focusing on four key areas, to make sure that they are competitive in their local market.

Marketing to existing and potential client base – News of law firm closures and difficulties are filtering through to consumers. You had better remind your clients that your firm is still alive and kicking. Send them a newsletter, connect with them on social media, invite private clients in for a coffee and a free will review or organise a breakfast briefing on employment changes for your business clients. If you are not continuously marketing to your client base, someone else will.

Make sure your training and development is up to date – We all have to do CPD but make sure that you spend your time doing something that is going to add value to your practice. Focus on two areas in the next 12 months that you are going to become an expert on and find a training programme that can help you to achieve it. If you can’t find one, HighStreetLawyer will develop one for you. It’s essential to stay ahead of the game and proving expertise through knowledge is key.

Get the best deal on your outgoings – Cutting costs can only go so far before you have no more costs to cut if you are going to deliver a good quality service. Unfortunately, small law firms have very little buying power when it comes to supplies that they need on a recurring basis, even though most firms are buying the same set of services from a fairly small group of suppliers. Collaboration through a buying club can help save you money. It can even save your client money if the costs are a disbursement that you normally pass on, making you more competitive.

Revise your business plan or if you don’t have one, start one – Banks and insurers used to recommend that their law firm clients have a business plan that deals with business continuity, risk management, succession planning, financial management, business development and sustainability. Now, they are insisting on it. You don’t need a MBA to produce a decent business plan that helps you to highlight the area that your business needs to focus on in the short and medium term and to set some goals for the longer term. As your firm evolves, make sure your plan is up to date and still reflects your realistic aspirations.

Without the need to spend time and resources creating a brand that no one currently needs, we are devoting our attention to helping small law firms develop their own brand through marketing, stay competitive through training and procurement and run a strong business by having a relevant business plan and strategy. Email gary@highstreetlawyer.com to find out more.