Campbell: Firms can join more than one network
Thrings, a law firm with offices across the South-West and South of England, has become the latest regional practice to launch a referral network for smaller practices.
Jo Campbell, head of business development, said Thrings Link would be open to law firms outside southern England, and she had recently spoken to a firm in Doncaster.
Thrings has over 350 staff, more than 60 partners and seven offices. Thrings Link has gone live after a soft launch in June with five firms. It currently has nine law firm members, which it is aiming to expand to 50 by this time next year.
Ms Campbell joined Thrings this time last year, having been business development manager at rival law firm network VWV Approach, and “brought the concept” with her.
She said having a network could help Thrings generate clients and revenue that otherwise “may not come to us”, and signpost clients, where the law firm could not help them, to firms it knew.
Like the law firms which referred work to Thrings, there were times when Thrings could not help clients because of conflicts of interest, a lack of capacity or areas of law that it did not cover.
The main benefits of being a member of Thrings Link were free membership, optional fee-share arrangements, a no-poaching agreement, reciprocal referrals, free access to webinars and seminars, and informal advice from Thrings’ legal and management teams.
Ms Campbell accepted that the concept was “not new”, but there was “room in the market” for more law firm networks.
One-time Manchester firm Pannone was the pioneer of the idea with Connect2law, created in 2001. At one time, it had more than 2,500 member practices, clustered around a series of regional hub firms.
After Pannone was bought by Slater & Gordon in 2014, some of the hub firms continued their networks independently, such as Fusion Law from Midlands firm Nelsons, Hugh James’s Legal Network, and Hub.Legal from FBC Manby Bowdler in Wolverhampton, which recently announced national expansion plans [1].
Others that have been launched over the years include BUCKLESconnect from Peterborough-based Buckles and Manchester firm Myersons’ network, Myersons Connections.
Although she was happy to talk to “any firm”, Ms Campbell said Thrings Link was “not intended to be a national network” and members were likely to “cluster” around the law firm’s offices in locations ranging from Bath and Bristol to Swindon and London.
She also said that, as well as small firms, membership could benefit regional firms, which may not have the specialisms that Thrings could offer.
There was no reason why firms should not join more than one network, she added. “Law firms are competing for clients and work, but there’s no need to compete for the work we can’t do.”
Some quite large law firms did not have private client departments, or act for employees as well as employers, for example.
Ms Campell said it was for firms to “weigh up the type of work” they were most likely to refer. Because membership of Thrings Link was free, they could join and then work out if it was for them.
“It’s up to us to make sure that firms have as much information about our firm as possible, so when they’re faced by a client they can’t help, they think of us.”
Ms Campell said the number of law firms in the South-West had not changed significantly, but the “nature of them” had changed.
“Two-to-four partner firms have been replaced by boutique firms and some mid-sized firms have been acquired.”
The likes of Knights had been on the acquisition trail, while City firms had been setting up offices in Bristol. Private equity was yet to make an impact in the region, though the situation could be different a year from now.
“The legal profession works best when firms collaborate rather than compete unnecessarily, and our network allows everyone involved – firms and clients alike – to benefit, with lawyers knowing their clients and their relationships are in safe hands, wherever they are in the UK.”