A Picture Paints a Thousand Words

If Law is a people business why do so many law firm websites use images of models not real people? 
I asked this question on a Linked In discussion a while back. The responses I got then are still valid now. 

One reader suggested that perhaps the real lawyers were too ugly to have their pictures on their site and models, even if it so obvious that they are not actually the lawyers that the client will deal with, represent a far better face of the law firm. 

Another contributor suggested it might have something to do with cost. Hiring a photographer, retouching the photos in Photoshop if necessary and then uploading them to your site all costs money and time. 

One commentator also pointed out that firms using stock images of people, instead of authentic ones, also often use standard pictures of skyline, blue clouds and chess pieces to show clear thinking, strategic excellence and other "buzz". However, he was quickly brought to task as his own LinkedIn picture is the avatar provided by LinkedIn for those users who haven't uploaded a picture. 

The web and social media is where your client base, actual and potential, as well as your peers and colleagues go to research you and your law firm. With so many solicitors bemoaning the fact that law is not a commodity but a profession where people connect with people, I find it surprising that so many are willing to hide behind fake images. Not to mention the damage using standard pictures can do for SEO (but more on that another time). 

Even on HSL Workshare, our own bespoke networking site for solicitors in small law firms, those users with a real picture have more connections and more activity than those still using the avatar. So, if you want to paint a picture of what you are like to do business with, start by taking a picture. 

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. 

2013 - A challenge ahead

2012 not only saw the first full year of the Legal Services Act and the launch of a number of new legal service providers but also the implementation of an entirely new compliance regime. 2013 brings the introduction of a ban on referral fees payable by lawyers to the introducers of work. We asked a select number of small law firms to participate in a survey at the end of December and the results have helped us to form our opinion on the challenges that face them for 2013. The survey is still available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RWD77JF

Every firm has by now had to nominate it's COLP and COFA. Such compliance officers will have to deal with Outcomes Focussed Regulations. Where previously a set of hard and fast rules governed the compliance of law firms, partners now have to interpret guidelines and make judgements of their own decisions. It is unsurprising therefore that about 250 firms have not yet nominated their COLP/COFA before the 31 December deadline http://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/hundreds-delinquent-firms-move-closer-colpcofa-action. In our survey, half of our respondents informed us that they were taking on both the COLP and COFA role.

Each week seems to see the launch of a new marketing initiative for legal services. Google backed US company Rocket Lawyer launched in the final quarter of 2012 and it's rival Legal Zoom is also dipping its toes into the UK legal market. Various comparison sites now exist and there is now of course TV advertising of legal services.

In 2012, more firms joined the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme and various lenders have now made CQS accreditation a requirement for membership of their panel. Without CQS, firms will simply not be able to act for certain lenders. Over a third of firms we surveyed admitted that they had to turn work away this year as they were not on a certain panel. From April 1 this year, firms without CQS will not be permitted on Santander's panel. Of the firms we surveyed only 40% had received CQS accreditation, although a further 40% intended to apply.

100% of our respondents would consider applying for accreditation of a probate scheme if The Law Society were to introduce one. Although firms are not exactly embracing these schemes there is a reluctant acceptance that to protect their ability to work, firms will have to carefully consider membership of as many schemes as possible.

Small, successful high street firms who wish to remain as such need to use the coming year to capitalise on their strengths and remove the effect of their weaknesses. Ironically, the fundamental strength of being a small law firm is paradoxically also its weakness. Because of their size small law firms have great local knowledge, years of experience often having acted for families or businesses for many years and the potential to give great customer service and be very caring towards their clients. Conversely, their ability to compete in marketing terms with larger organisations is stymied, even ridiculed by their size. With the same compliance regime for every firm, regardless of size, small firms will use up a far higher proportion of potential fee earning time with management and compliance issues. Marketing budgets of small law firms are dwarfed by those of large new market entrants. The only effective way to counter such competition is for smaller firms to take advantage of some kind of collective marketing, deciding first on whether social media, TV or price comparison is the forum to attack.

Of our surveyed firms, almost 70% had a Twitter and a Linked In account. 60% are actively sending enewsletters and approximately 40% are still sending brochures. At this rate, there must be a huge amount of material being sent by small firms to potential customers. How do firms distinguish themselves, especially when a lot of the material is fairly generic?

My prediction for 2013 is that lots of small law firms will find the challenges too much to face and will look for the chance to be taken over or leave the market. Small law firms should focus this year on existing client bases and not blow in the wind trying to attract new clients. Getting to grips with the effect as well as the cost of compliance will also be a great benefit. My hope is that small law firms play to their strengths and realise the great head start that that they have on new market entrants but accept the fact that that reducing cost bases and outsourcing back office functions may be necessary and productive. My new years resolution is to work with the firms that wish to remain strong, profitable and competitive.

Gary Yantin 
Gary Yantin is the founder and Managing Director of HighStreetLawyer.com, the consumer facing legal brand and umbrella group for small high street law firms. 

Ssh! It’s a secret! The importance of a good NDA

If you have a NDA, HighStreetLawyer.com will review it for you for free and let you know if it is suitable for your purposes. The information contained within this article does not constitute legal advice.

Anyone who has seen the film “The Social Network” about the creation of Facebook will appreciate the importance of guarding a good secret and ascertaining where the idea originated. Billions of pounds can be at stake by not properly protecting your business’ sacred information. Just look at the Apple versus Samsung litigation to see the effect.

But what if you have you got a business idea that you need to discuss with other people? You may need to take soundings on the viability of your idea or start talking to potential backers. However, as paranoia seeps in that those you want to collaborate with may steal your amazing idea, your desire to communicate with them diminishes.

What can you do to ensure that you achieve maximum advantage from partnering with others without losing your shirt?

There are various pros and cons to asking potential partners to sign a Non Disclosure or Confidentiality Agreement (NDA). Which form to use and whether to use one at all will depend on many factors.

If you are passing sensitive or confidential data to someone for review purposes or for them to assess whether a business relationship should be pursued a simple NDA is all that is required. The main element of the NDA is to put the receiving party on notice that the information that they will receive is regarded as commercially sensitive. The agreement will stipulate who the information can be shared with; such as accountants and lawyers, how it should be stored and what should happen if the relationship does not proceed. Where most data is shared electronically, consider how likely it will be that the receiving party can properly protect your sensitive data and destroy it when the relationship is not to be pursued.

If the other party is also going to be sharing their information with you, a mutual NDA will be best so that both parties are subject to the same obligations. This may not be as strong as a one sided NDA but shows the other party that you can also abide by promises of confidentiality.

Very few ideas are entirely new and elements of your idea may already be known to the recipient or in the public domain. The NDA should clarify whether it covers sensitive information about your idea that the recipient may have seen elsewhere. They will not want to be responsible for keeping secret something which is already widely known.

Experienced investors, angel networks and private equity houses receive hundreds of pitches, many of which have a similar theme and possibly similarities with ideas that they may be developing themselves especially if they are already in your sector. Their ability to protect your information and keep it separate, physically and theoretically, from other ideas that they have seen is often impaired. Many such investors will not agree to be bound by NDA’s for this reason. A confidentiality notice or an undertaking in correspondence may be the best you will get. Whether you want to share information with a party that does not want to sign your NDA will be a delicate balance of how useful they may be to moving your idea to the next level.

Of course, the more your idea is shared the harder it gets to keep it a secret.

You should always

Keep good records of everyone who has seen your sensitive data,
Who has signed a NDA and whether they made any changes to it before signing it,
Number all documents that you send out to keep track of the data flying around and
Ask that any documents are returned to you if the matter does not proceed.
A NDA is a contract between two parties and is enforceable provided it is proportionate to the type of information being shared. Imposing huge sanctions on a receiving party for breaching the agreement are unlikely to be upheld.

Drafting a NDA needn’t cost a fortune and a good template or precedent can be easily modified for different scenarios.

Ultimately, the purpose of the NDA is to notify the other party that you are serious, that you care about what you are sending them and that it has commercial value. Whether your idea is a success will have to rely on a whole host of other factors.