Marketing & PR

Going it alone in the new legal world “is simply a drawn-out closing down”, a leading law firm consultant has warned – while another has told law firms not to overlook “the power of the solicitor brand” when rushing to align themselves with national brands.

Pearse McCabe of brand and digital agency Rufus Leonard explains how important branding will become in the post-ABS world and considers some of the key issues that traditional law firms need to look at in response.

QualitySolicitors is generating nearly 100,000 leads per month for its member firms, pioneering research into find-a-solicitor type services has revealed, while around a fifth of such businesses have disappeared since 2010.

Strong law firms are getting stronger while the weak are getting weaker as traditional sources of legal work dry up, a new survey seen exclusively by Legal Futures has concluded. The National Solicitors Selling Survey also found that more than half of firms surveyed saw ABSs as a threat.

A London barrister has launched an online referral service that passes instructions to public access barristers as well as solicitors. Karen Taylor, head of Themis Chambers, runs Find A Legal Specialist, which filters the needs of potential clients – including the complexity of the case – through a series of questions.

A law firm in Blackburn will next week launch a campaign to make legal services more accessible to deaf people as part of its efforts to become what it says is the only law firm in the country for the deaf and hard of hearing. Joseph Frasier Solicitors’ campaign is called “Representing your right to be heard”.

Mid-market law firms are responding cautiously to the changing legal services market, with just 14% saying they are actively considering external investment and 21% anticipating a merger or major restructuring in the next year, according to new research.

James Boyd-Wallis, account director at Legal Futures Associate Byfield Consultancy outlines recent guidance from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

The chief executive of national law firm Russell Jones & Walker has questioned the ability of large solicitors’ consortiums to provide clients with a consistent service across the board. Neil Kinsella stressed the importance of independence and consistency.

Every partner in a law firm is now expected to be a “rainmaker”, yet those who show the most talent for winning clients can be a disruptive influence, a panel of senior commercial lawyers has concluded.