Most people would still favour a traditional law firm to handle divorce proceedings, a survey reveals as banks and supermarkets are allowed to offer legal services for the first time.
Although the Legal Services survey by RTS media suggested people were open to the idea of receiving other legal services, such as conveyancing and wills and probate, from new providers, 83% said they would still prefer to approach high-street law firms to handle the more emotionally charged issue of divorce.
Respondents said they trusted traditional law firms to handle sensitive divorce proceedings with the required level of discretion and sensitivity.
The Legal Services Act will liberalise the market for consumer legal services to allow law firms to merge with other companies, such as banks and supermarkets, and for non-lawyers to become partners in law firms. Despite the reforms being dubbed ‘Tesco Law’, Tesco says it has now plans to offer legal services alongside insurance, credit cards and loans.
The government says liberalisation of the market for legal services will lower prices and give consumers more choice, but critics claim quality and independence will be undermined.
The reforms, which come into force in October, might be less of a threat to traditional high street firms than many suppose, according to another report.
Marketing muscle
There would be a bigger cake, although there would be an awful lot more people to cut the cake
Anonymous member of the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners on the likely effects of banks and supermarkets providing legal services
Trusted advisor – The future suggests that supermarkets could help increase awareness of the importance of having a will, lasting power of attorney and death benefits in trust. The profusion of competition arising from the reforms, suggests the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners report, could be offset by the boost in demand generated thanks to the marketing muscle and reach of major supermarkets, through whose doors most of the adult population pass on a frequent basis.
A member of the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners quoted in the report summarised the reforms thus: “There would be a bigger cake, although there would be an awful lot more people to cut the cake.”
Solicitor-led and prohibited from accepting outside investment, law firms have traditionally spent little on marketing and relied on word-of-mouth referrals.
Two East-Midlands firms are among the first to capitalise on the new law. KCH Chambers, where you can find a Divorce Lawyer in Nottingham, will join forces with Leicester-based Garden Square Chambers to create the region’s largest chambers, KCH Garden Square.
Stephen Lowne, head of chambers at KCH Garden Square, said: "Providers of legal services need to consider innovative ways of providing all their clients with simple access to the full range of case-handling experience and expertise.
“KCH Garden Square will bring together all that everyone involved in the criminal justice system will need. Also, as our two chambers are wholeheartedly collaborating in this venture, we are seeking other legal partners who share our thinking for the future of the profession".
Another East-Midlands firm seizing on the reforms is Nelsons, which has launched a comprehensive online legal service. Customers can choose from more than 200 legal documents, or request solicitors to tailor documents to their own requirements, and pay with a debit or credit card at the ‘checkout’.
