Slice and easy

If you look back at the totality of law firms, there aren’t that many that have developed their legal services offering by scouring the market for opportunities. Most are just products of where they’ve been – and, as such, where they are at a given moment in time. That’s not a bad thing – but as the world shifts so do legal services, and perhaps what were once highly valued can now be produced at the press of a button (supposedly).

We’ve often had the feeling that many firms are reluctant to take a hard look at their services to determine which are money makers and develop a strategy around that information. But that’s exactly what they need to do if they want to be more profitable and competitive businesses. Find out more in this month’s feature on p34.

One firm that has leveraged market opportunities  well to help develop a more client-friendly brand is A City Law Firm, this month’s law firm profile. Read what managing director Karen Holden had to say about maintaining client experience in the city.

FUNDING THE FUTURE

It’s been more than a year since the EU referendum – which might beg the question, is the UK heading inexorably towards a post-Brexit recession as predicted by some? The simple answer is, we still don’t know – but it’s certainly a possibility. The market is becoming increasingly competitive and the SRA’s plans to deregulate unreserved work will likely make it more so by enabling new entrants to deliver services at a lower price – and thus eat their law firm competitors’ breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A CITY LAW FIRM: CX AND THE CITY

Many law firms are more concerned with their bottom lines than adding value to services or fostering better consumer satisfaction. The problem with that business mentality, of course, is that it alienates clients who are increasingly willing, and have the right tools at their disposal, to scour the market for a more client-friendly service.

DRIVING MIGRATION

Lawrence Lupin, founding director and head of immigration boutique LUPINS, tells LPM how Accesspoint helped transform his business with guidance on new technology and marketing.

QUICKER CONTRACTS

“We want to provide a more efficient and responsive service to our clients – by using Thomson Reuters’ Contract Express we can produce draft documents quicker, improve the quality and consistency of our service as a whole and, in the process, reduce costs,” says Martin O’Donoghue, partner at Kerman & Co.