Human touch still vital in the legal sector

The legal industry has seen change like no other professional sector in recent years and this widespread upheaval will continue in 2014.

The introduction of non-lawyer investment and ownership in legal firms, ushered in a couple of years ago by the Legal Services Act, has created increased competition and I predict that will only intensify further in the next 12-months.

We will see fewer law firms in the market place as those who have failed to adapt to the current environment close their doors and larger firms swallow them up in an attempt to consolidate. I suspect we will see other professions seeking to encroach further into areas of work that have traditionally been done by lawyers. For example, we might see accountants doing more probate work, or more non-lawyer businesses advising on legal issues relating to employment rights.

While the traditional way of delivering legal services has long been under threat from those big players offering volume services through automated systems, the human touch will still be required in more complex and valuable cases where expert judgment is called for and strong relationships between adviser and client are fundamental.

Many legal practices have bemoaned the increased regulatory and compliance requirements being put on law firms by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), but when you boil it down, all of this is geared towards better client service and value. The SRA wants clients to be treated fairly and properly and that should be the absolute minimum solicitors should be aiming for, so focussing on client service and value should be seen as an opportunity and not a threat.

After all, the one thing a legal client takes as a given is that you can do the work they are asking you to do. It is those other qualities such as speed, quality, professionalism, courtesy and understanding that clients are looking for when they buy legal services, particularly in the commercial sector.

Law firms will only retain clients if they get out and speak to them, find out what matters to them and what challenges they are dealing with.

Of course, technology has an important role to play, but there are still so many situations where there is no substitute for face-to-face contact with a lawyer, such as when negotiating a business deal, trying to resolve a commercial dispute, dealing with an important health and safety matter, or facing a difficult divorce.

On a final point, law firms need the right people on board if they are to achieve this human touch. One factor that could present issues for many law firms as the economy recovers is staff shortages and skills gaps.

Those law firms who made redundancies, stopped recruiting people, or slashed training and development budgets during the downturn, will now be struggling to service work because they lack the manpower and skills to do the job.

There remain many opportunities and threats for the legal sector. Those businesses that have a clear growth strategy, a very good knowledge of their target market, and the right people, are the ones that will make things happen in 2014.