Specialists Dave Mort, Jon Hepburn and Ray Fox will all be giving key presentations on the day, calling upon their practical experience in the fields of research in the legal services sector , business development and helping Solicitors sell, merge or value their practices.

Attendees will be able to get the inside track from some of the best brains in the business and discuss the issues with fellow professionals.

Delegates can book online at http://www.lawfirmbusinessdevelopment.eventbrite.com

CoreLegal founder member and Director of IRN Research Dave Mort, says “Whilst no industry possesses a crystal ball to predict the future, there are real opportunities for innovative high street law firms looking to expand. This seminar will highlight those opportunities and will give useful, practical advice on how law firms can grow.”

The seminar follows on from last November’s sell-out event ‘Outcomes Focused Regulation – What It Is And How To Achieve It’.

This CoreLegal seminar is open to all law firms. Sessions will cover:

• Changing business models and working with others to keep the business growing
• Business development tips for law firms staying independent
• How to grow through merger or acquisition

The event also provides an excellent opportunity to network following the presentations.

Date: Friday 25th May 2012. Price: £60

Time: 2:00 – 5:00pm (arrive by 1:45pm please)

Venue: The Bloomsbury Suite, Hotel Russell, 1-8 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5BE  http://www.londonrussellhotel.co.uk

Tube: Russell Square (Piccadilly Line)

Delegates can book online at http://www.lawfirmbusinessdevelopment.eventbrite.com

For further information, please send an email to info@corelegal.net or call 020 3393 5305

Related posts:

1. Corelegal seminar this month focuses on OFR
2. CPD Training course ‘Where are you in the race towards ABSs?’ (Alternative Business Structures)
3. What is actually meant by a business development campaign?

As I work from home, every day is different. Some days I need to frantically work for fourteen hours, others I can afford to relax a little with my kids. Today, as I am working for a law firm who wish to sell their Practice, I wake up early in order to make my noon meeting in North Wales.

I leave the house at eight o’clock so that I can wander around the town I am visiting before my arranged meeting. This is important so that I can get an impression of the town and have a look at all of the competition.

I arrive early and park in the town centre. I then go into as many other law firms as I can, picking up their literature from the receptionists and asking questions about the firm that I am about to visit.

Although some of the offices that I visit have information packs about the firm, it is amazing how many have no material at all and all they can offer as reading material in their reception is a two year old copy of ‘Hello’.

I learn that the Welsh town I am visiting is planning to build a new oil refinery. This kind of information is vital to provide an accurate estimate of the firms’ value. A new refinery will mean more jobs, more houses, more people and therefore more clients for a law firm. The outlook for this firm is looking good.

After my stroll, I walk to my meeting in which I try and tease out of my client why they really want to sell their business. As different clients have different needs I have to change each firm’s marketing strategy appropriately. I try not to make the meeting too formal and chat to my client. I consider these meetings to be social interactions in which the client has to trust me. I find out today that my client wants her firm valued as she and her husband decided that it was high time that they spent more time together. They are both aged in their middle to late fifties and have decided to enjoy their imminent retirement.

However all of my clients have completely different reasons for their sales and last week I had a meeting with a man who had just returned from a trip to Cyprus. When I asked him why he wanted to sell his firm, he informed me that he had just sold his holiday villa on the island and had made more money doing so than he made during a year of business in the UK. He had therefore decided that he wanted to sell his Practice and put all of the money from his firm into buying other holiday homes abroad.

My client today provided me with information about her firm by giving me details such as copies of her annual accounts and the firm’s professional indemnity insurance. I have also looked at the Firms’ brochures, any advertising campaigns that they might have run and the number of deeds, trusts, EPAs and wills etc that my client has. I can offer advice and give the firm an assessment of their marketability. I now start on a more thorough analysis of the firm by asking questions about the number of fee earners and lease agreements, etc. My client has far too many partners actually doing the legal work rather than overseeing the other fee earners. This is one of the areas where firms often lose profits.

I spend a lot of time outlining to my Client the different types of buyers there are in the market place and what each are looking for. I explain to her that I have over 70,000 Solicitors’ email addresses and over 19,500 Solicitors’ on a hard copy database so its relatively easy for me to get her Practice “into the market” – professionally, discretely and ethically, without disclosing her exact identity of location.

I also go through a number of tips for her as to how to make her practice more attractive to a potential buyer. Her Partners can’t make up their minds whether they would all rather sell the Practice or whether they would like to stay on as Partners or Consultants in a larger merged practice. It looks like I’ll have to consider a merger as well as a sale and I go though the plusses and minuses of the different courses of action.

Having worked with over 605 Solicitors and their Practices, valued over 325 firms and sold around 110, I’m uniquely placed to give her a pretty accurate picture of what the goodwill of the firm is worth as well as the WIP, debts and other assets.

I can also explain to her in detail about the tricks that predatory practices are going to play by them trying to convince her that her firm actually isn’t worth anything at all, so they try and get her to give her practice away for nothing. You’d be amazed how many gullible Solicitors have done that in the past so I tell her in no uncertain terms that her firm has a goodwill value and that she shouldn’t be hoodwinked by unscrupulous firms who will try and tell her otherwise.

I then explain the process of how to reduce the numbers of time-wasters who will enquire about her practice. I give her a copy of a confidentiality agreement as well as the name of another law firm who can help her draft up the contracts for the sale or merger of her business.

After our meeting, I head off home, managing to leave just before the rush hour traffic is too bad. I often write up my report for the client as soon as I get home so that it is still fresh I my mind but tonight I have a freemasonry meeting so I leave all my notes in my office (aka our 10ft square spare bedroom) ready to type up in the morning.

I get changed and then get a lift from a friend to the lodge. Tonight we are having a meeting, followed by a meal and then a few drinks. These meetings are an excellent way for networking, as a lot of the members are businessmen like myself.

I return home slightly later than normal and am welcomed by my wife who is flicking through holiday brochures. We stay up talking for a while about our planned New Year’s jaunt to Lanzarote. However the effect of a busy day begins to take its toll and we soon retire to bed. I check on the kids before I go to sleep and within a few minutes of my head hitting the pillow, I’m dead to the world.

Ray Fox, the Founder and Principal of The Bottom Line Consultancy, was the Company Secretary and Legal Director of Dun + Bradstreet. His Company specialises in providing a full range of support and marketing services to Solicitors and their Practices. Having worked for over 605 different Solicitors Practices, they are probably one of the largest consultancies specialises in the legal profession.

He can be contacted on 01494 483728 or by email at fox@estelle-alan.com. Further details of their services can be found at their web site, www.BottomLineConsultancy.com

Related posts:

1. A law firm that can’t be sold?
2. Do Solicitors’ Practices have a value?
3. So who’s going to buy your Firm?

In many industry sectors, comparison and review websites are one of the main channels through which a business can connect with its customers. Who hasn’t checked out reviews of a film, book or washing machine before typing in our card details and proceeding to the checkout?

But this is all well and good for consumer purchases, lawyers may cry – it is completely different when it comes to legal services. Isn’t it?

Well, yes to a certain degree, in that purchasing FMCGs (fast moving consumer goods such as toiletries or food for example) or durable goods (e.g. washing machines) is quite closely linked to the reputation of that item – or the company that sells it. In other words, personal experience and the word of mouth of others plays a huge part in getting people to buy.

Where legal services differs is that, in the past, people have automatically assumed a level of competence and, indeed, a certain level of service from a solicitor – and have generally gravitated towards their local provider – the same way in which they would register with their local doctor, see their local optician or open a bank account with their local bank…

…However, over the past few years’ society’s attitude towards service providers has shifted massively

• Along with the development of the internet, the global market and social media, the world has become a smaller place, both physically and virtually. People are now no longer constrained by the ‘local’ label, even when it comes to professionals who provide a service.
• What they are now looking for is who can provide the best service and the best value, not only in terms of price but also through visible examples of a good reputation i.e. testimonials and recommendations.
• As service providers, law firms now need to make sure that their reputation clearly matches their service and that this is good enough to attract new business as well as retain long-standing business from existing clients. So, how can they communicate this quickly and cost-effectively?

The rise and reach of the internet

• There is a difference between trying to find the right legal advisor, the cheapest car insurance, a night in a hotel or a care home for an elderly relative – the information sought, importance of the service to name but two. But this is a task that has been made much easier thanks to comparison sites.
• They, like brand names, provide a short cut to help people make a decision and can be divided into price-based comparison and review-based comparison – both of which contribute to the development of a reputation.

Price comparison sites

• These are ubiquitous in car insurance and many other sectors and, along with fixed price legal advice websites, are becoming more popular in the legal services sectors. Law firms are often attracted to these sites by promises of new business but, unless your law firm is of a suitable size, structure and culture, competing on price alone can be a risky option.
• A client’s perceptions of value are much more than just the cost involved and if your workflow is dependent on referrals that could be outlawed or from a source that could become a competitor, it is time to think about reputation management.

Review sites

• When there is a lack of information on which to make an informed decision – particularly for an infrequent and often ‘distress’ purchase such as legal advice – recommendations, reviews and the reach of the internet have been a great help to the consumer.
• Indeed, the Government is encouraging the empowerment of consumers in many service sectors – there are proposals in a forthcoming White Paper on the future of social care proposing for care homes to be reviewed and rated – it would be fair to say that review sites will become an even more prominent feature on the consumer landscape.

The role of feedback differs according to what is being sold

• For a product such as a toy, book or car, there can be clear indications of whether or not the reviewer has been impressed with the product or the service received.
• When it comes to legal services the information imbalance between client and solicitor is often huge and the subject matter highly emotive. The client often has little interest in the process; their focus is on the service and outcome – and that will shape any feedback they may provide.
• However, the implications of a ‘bad’ restaurant experience or waiting longer than expected for a shed to be delivered are less serious than the implications of some incorrect legal advice – real or perceived – and so it is understandable that many law firms remain wary of the subjective nature of reviews.

The effect on each service provider’s reputation is potentially significant but must be put in context

• Consumers are now quite familiar with using review sites to help them decide on a wide range of purchases. But they are also getting wise to the issues encountered by sites such as TripAdvisor where the lack of a verification process has shown some reviews to be fraudulent and/or malicious.
• By their very nature, review sites will attract extremes of opinion but those sites that endeavour to make sure that reviews are genuine, will be the ones whose own reputation will rank highly in the site visitor’s consciousness.
• Comparison site visitors don’t tend to be alarmed by the occasional negative comment (some may even be suspicious if none exist) and generally take a broader view of the range of reviews published.

Taking this on board, some online retailers actively include all positive and negative reviews of their products and services on their own websites. It is worth noting that, under the new ABS rules; those big brands could soon be offering legal advice. Will they offer a ‘warts and all’ availability of client reviews for these services – and will you?

Given that getting client feedback is an SRA requirement for the new OFR, an appreciation of reputation management through reviews is important. The time has come for law firms to ‘think like a retailer’ with regard to their reputation and to consider the information that would help a potential client choose them over another provider.

The Legallybetter perspective

• Legallybetter has been in existence for three years. We are an independent and responsible review site and have always been careful to ensure our service offering is to the benefit of law firms. To date, we haven’t published very negative reviews (though we are currently reviewing this policy), as we want to give law firms the opportunity to rectify any problems they may have had with a client.
• We enable law firms to maximise the value of their reputation through the provision of a new client feedback service that is second to none and help empowered consumers be able to make an informed choice.
• We perceive a difference between the collective reputation of an entire law firm and that of an individual solicitor – they both have huge value and are both inextricably linked but also entirely independent of each other. To that end we offer individual solicitor profiles as well as a listing for the whole law firm including individual branch offices to enhance your local status.

Legallybetter won’t sell you leads and won’t promise to get your law firm onto page 1 of Google. We provide actual client feedback for your firm to verify and act upon. We welcome a future where we are able to provide client feedback about all legal services providers.

Related posts:

1. Increasing use of the internet and recommendations when looking for solicitor
2. Client feedback for law firms – why do it?
3. ‘Do solicitors value their reputation as a marketing tool?’

The CoreLegal Seminar, the first in a series of forthcoming events that CoreLegal is planning over the coming months, is entitled ‘Outcomes Focused Regulation – What It Is And How To Achieve It’ and will take place on 28^th November at the Hotel Russell on London’s Russell Square.

Expert presenters Paul Bennett and Michaela Hardwick, calling upon a wealth of practical experience together with the highest level of expertise in the fields of consulting, training and performance coaching, will be giving key presentations on the day.

With the introduction of OFR, which has come to be viewed as a ‘thorn in the side’ for many solicitors, the old detailed and prescriptive rulebook has been replaced with a targeted, risk-based approach that shines the spotlight very markedly on client service standards.

The Seminar will seek to explore this brave new world, explain the new SRA regulations and offer practical advice on how law firms and solicitors can deal with these changes.

The CoreLegal Seminar is open to all law firms and solicitors and will offer guidance on how to comply with OFR, help on how to negotiate change from being reactive to being pro-active and give advice on specific OFR issues.

The event also provides an excellent opportunity to network following the presentations.

CoreLegal CPD Seminar

• Monday 28^th November 2011
• Hotel Russell, 1-8 Russell Square London WC1B 5BE
• 2-5pm (networking and complimentary drinks 5-6pm)
• Cost £40 – early bird rate (pre 8^th November) £35

For more details and to book a place please visit:

http://www.outcomesfocusedregulations.eventbrite.com

Related posts:

1. May 25th 2012 – CoreLegal Seminar Focuses On Business Growth for High Street Law firms
2. Delays for Alternative Business Structures (ABSs) but Outcome Focused Regulations (OFR) are just around the corner

But they are often done badly, with little thought for the needs or interests of the recipient and ignoring best practice. Jon Hepburn from the Fedora Consultancy looks at some of the key preparation areas to consider when planning a campaign.

Targeted, measurable and able to drive traffic to your website, an e-mail newsletter can underpin and support company goals and objectives, enabling the sender to share a professional opinion, impart knowledge or rapidly broadcast sales messages in whatever priority they see fit. As long as it avoids being relegated to junk via the DELETE button.

1) Do it properly or don’t do it at all?

Whilst e-mail newsletters are cost-effective (cutting out print and postage costs) and easy to implement due to the development of technology, they are in essence a permission-based marketing activity governed by best practice principles that companies ignore at their peril.

Poorly timed, overly sales-oriented, over-designed material that is randomly or relentlessly fired off to unsuspecting recipients is not only ineffective, it has the potential to seriously undermine a company’s reputation and act as a ‘turn-off’ – especially if the recipient can’t even find a link to ‘unsubscribe’. The e-landscape is evolving quickly and so there is a need to keep abreast of what is best practice in order to compete effectively for a reader’s attention.

2) Creating a dialogue

As with any communications or marketing activity, some groundwork is key to the successful delivery of an e-mail newsletter campaign. At the heart of it all is a focus on creating a dialogue with people who have (or potentially have) an interest in who you are, what you say, what you stand for, what you sell etc.

This means that an e-mail newsletter should only be sent to people who might wish to receive it, not to a random list of email addresses from business cards scooped up at networking events or collected on a piecemeal basis over a number of years.

3) Data Quality

The effectiveness of your campaign will depend heavily on the quality of your data i.e. how ‘clean’ your mailing list is so it is vital that you take a good look at your intended recipients list and see how up to date it is. In addition, and this is becoming increasingly more important as e-mail services tighten up their spam criteria, ensure that you have permission to send.

Even then the perception of ‘spam’ is not just limited to items being received from unknown email addresses or ones that the recipient hasn’t consented to.

4) Fresh, not too frequently and with their permission

According to a study by Q Interactive conducted in conjunction with marketing research firm MarketingSherpa:

• 56 per cent of consumers consider marketing messages from known senders to be spam if the message is “just not interesting to me”
• 50 per cent consider “too frequent e-mails from companies I know” to be spam
• 31 per cent of respondents said that they consider“e-mails that were once useful, but aren’t relevant anymore,” to be spam
• Five per cent click-through is the typical level now – ten years ago it was over 20 per cent. Without consent, recipients vote with the “move to spam” button.

Source: http://atriumgroup.com/news/respect-isnt-option

5)  Consent – but not forever

If you’re considering renting a list of email addresses, think hard whether the list vendor genuinely sought consent to sell it to you, a third party. If they haven’t, it’s highly likely you will be damaging your brand. Buying lists of people who apparently have agreed to ‘Yes, please send me anything’ could be a recipe for disaster.

Remember too that the consent to remain in contact is not forever. If your emails remain unopened after 10 messages, would it not be better to ask the recipient if they are happy for you to stay in touch?

The objective should be to build a database that increases client loyalty, response levels and traffic to your website.

To find out more please contact Jon  Hepburn at The Fedora Consultancy on 01743 366288 or visit http://www.fedoraconsultancy.co.uk/

Related posts:

1. Advertising for law firms – 9 tips for an effective campaign
2. Is your brand stereotyped?
3. What is actually meant by a business development campaign?

Much of the publicity about non-legal outsourcing in the legal sector has focused on the larger firms. For example, in May 2010, City law firm CMS Cameron McKenna announced that it was outsourcing its non-legal office functions (e.g. accounting and finance, HR, training, IT, marketing & communications, library and information etc) to Integreon in a multi-million pound deal. See link 1 below.

In December 2009, Beachcroft and TLT Solicitors joined a third law firm Osborne Clarke in outsourcing their entire library services in another agreement with Integreon to create the first shared information centre in the UK legal sector. See link 2 below.

However, a 2010 survey by Core Legal member IRN Research analysed responses from 36 law firms with 10 partners or less and found that almost half of these were outsourcing something:

• Just under half of smaller law firms are outsourcing some non-legal activities but these are concentrated on areas such as recruitment, accountancy, typing and secretarial support, and IT and software support.
• Outsourcing of other activities, such as marketing, market research, and PR, is much less common so far but more are likely to consider in the future.
• Most of the law firms that have successfully outsourced specific tasks and have seen the benefits are willing to consider other areas for outsourcing but there are few smaller law firms that have so far outsourced all their non- legal tasks.
• For those firms reluctant to outsource, tasks such as marketing, PR, and even IT support are taken on by either fee- earners or support staff in specific law firms.

One smaller law firm that has outsourced virtually all of its non-legal activities is Woolley & Co and Andrew Woolley notes that it is about improving efficiency as much as cost savings:

“ It is a truism that lawyers are good at law but nothing else! Certainly we tend to be very poor at admin, IT, HR, web, marketing etc. So it seems a clear case to outsource even if only to get it done right – any cost saving is a bonus. My firm is extreme in that our whole ethos has always been to outsource everything we can. After all, clients outsource their legal issues to us! What can be more critical than that?”

Andrew adds “The law firms that survive will be the ones who get all their lawyers billing 4 chargeable hours per day minimum at the top rate concentrating on what they do best and leaving the rest to the experts”.

As well as individual law firms taking the outsourcing route there are also “shared outsourcing” schemes starting to appear.

One pilot scheme involving 10 small law firms is already underway in Greater Manchester (see link 3 below) with these firms setting up a single management company to manage their shared support services. The scheme has been initiated by Manchester Law Society.

Outsourcing is also particularly popular with virtual law firms, like Woolley above, and more of these are emerging. The need to cut overheads during the recession, demands for more flexible working and a better home-life balance, improvements in IT solutions and systems, and a more competitive environment are factors driving the significant increase in virtual law firms in recent months.

These are firms which have largely dispensed with physical premises – they may still have a small central administrative office somewhere – and allow their partners to work from home or a satellite office.

Outsourcing – Quick Tips

Here are some quick tips to bear in mind when considering an outsourcing option:

• Spend some time evaluating variousoutsourcing options before you select the one for you.
• Do not base any outsourcing decision on price alone – the lowest price option is not always the best.
• Consider the qualifications and experience of potential outsourcers and, in particular, clarify exactly who will be doing the work.
• Be clear about the precise service levels required and being offered, think about a Service Level Agreement (SLA) if appropriate.
• Support of relevant internal staff is important so keep staff informed and engaged from an early stage and try and take them with you on the outsourcing journey.
• Look at the legal, security, and compliance issues surrounding any outsourcing deal. You are responsible for the actions of your internal staff and liable for these actions. Clarify the position when a task is outsourced.
• Check out some existing clients of the outsourcer, ask for references.
• Make sure any potential external supplier used understands legal practice.

In Part 3 we look at a strong growth forecast for busines process outsourcing and present a number of outsourcing success stories.

1 http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/cameron-mckenna-signs-deal-outsource-middle-office-functions

2 http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/1565496/beachcroft-tlt-sign-share-outsourced-library-services-oc

3 http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/smaller-firms-collaborate-north-west

Related posts:

1. Outsourcing of non-legal services – smaller law firms are beginning to see real benefits and savings
2. Outsourcing for Smaller Law Firms: Core Legal White Paper – Part 1 of 4

1. Introduction

In practice, there are still many law firms that are reluctant to consider outsourcing perhaps because of fear of losing control of business operations, concerns over poor quality service, security and compliance issues, or higher than expected costs. However, a growing number of law practices, and more and more smaller firms, are embracing outsourcing.

This White Paper aims to describe some of the outsourcing success stories from some UK law firms in future postings. These include:

• Legal insurance
• Client surveys
• Marketing
• Bookkeeping
• Law firm sale
• Public relations
• Copy-writing
• Cloud computing

It also outline the types of activities being outsourced and explain some of the basic principles to think about when considering outsourcing.

All the outsourcing examples are from projects undertaken by Core Legal members in the UK. Core Legal is a one-stop shop for legal support services in the UK and its members include legal cashiers, a legal copywriter, insurance specialist, experts in marketing, market research and PR, a software expert and a specialist in law firm mergers and acquisitions amongst others.

2. Outsourcing – Overview

Our focus is on the outsourcing of those non-legal activities and tasks that take place in a legal practice. These can range from day-to-day areas like bookkeeping, HR and recruitment, insurance, IT, secretarial work through to more strategic issues such as marketing, market research, PR, and merger and acquisition advice.

These activities are often referred to collectively as Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and should not be confused with LPO, or Legal Process Outsourcing, which refers to the outsourcing by law firms of legal tasks such as the drafting of standard legal documents, legal document review, legal research etc.

Cost savings are often the motivation for outsourcing and, in the present financial climate, most businesses are looking to reduce costs and overheads. But outsourcing should be viewed as much more than a cost saving exercise. It is also about:

• Driving improvements in business efficiency and productivity. It allows an external supplier to take on the responsibility for specific tasks and processes allowing you and your staff to focus on the business’s core areas.
• Gaining access to specialist expertise which otherwise would not be available within the business, and increase resources. An effective outsourcer should also be there to come up with innovative ideas and processes to help the business move forward.
• Business flexibility: while many outsourcing deals are relatively long-term and the supplier can build up a relationship with the client, there are also opportunities to use outsourcing for one-off projects or occasional tasks that arise and which cannot be dealt with by an internal resource.
• Cost restructuring with outsourcing often changing the ratio between fixed and variable costs. With outsourcers often charging on a fee for service basis these variable costs become more predictable and more manageable.
• Capacity improvements can be achieved without major investment in capital and resources with the risk in providing the excess capacity borne by the supplier.

As we slowly move out of the economic downturn and some law firms look to grow again then outsourcing becomes one avenue to boost growth. Conversely, for those businesses trying to overcome a period of instability then outsourcing can provide resources and flexibility.

In part 2 there will be ‘Law Firm Outsourcing – The Story so Far’ and ‘Practical Tips for Effective Outsourcing’.

To find out more about outsourcing for smaller law firms please contact:

David Mort -Director, IRN Research on 0121 635 5210
Email: david.mort@irn-research.com
Web: www.irn-research.com

Related posts:

1. Outsourcing of non-legal services – smaller law firms are beginning to see real benefits and savings
2. CoreLegal White Paper Part 2 – ‘Practical Tips for Effective Outsourcing’

In October 2011, Core Legal is planning a half-day CPD-accredited workshop in London offering practical advice and guidance to law firms and solicitors on how to achieve Outcome Focused Regulation (OFR) and deal with Compliance.

If you would like advance details of this event please contact dmort@irn-research.com.

In the meantime, Core Legal member David Mort of IRN Research provides a quick update on the anticipated changes coming soon covering both OFR and ABSs:

Outcome Focused Regulation
OFR launched in October 2011, focuses on the high-level principles and outcomes that should drive the provision of legal services for consumers. The existing detailed and prescriptive rulebook will be replaced with a targeted, risk-based approach concentrating on the standards of service to consumers. There will be greater flexibility for firms in how they achieve outcomes (standards of service) for clients.

The detailed strictures of the old rules have been replaced by an outline of the 10 mandatory ‘principles’, professional standards expected of the solicitor and firm at all times. The arrival of OFR gives the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) various powers, including the ability to visit law firms at random or carry out risk-based assessments and receive an annual compliance report. Law firms will also have to nominate a dedicated compliance officer for legal practice by March 2012.

Background details regarding OFR can be found at:

http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/freedom-in-practice/outcomes-focused-regulation.page,

Alternative Business Structures (ABSs)

ABSs, also due in October 2011, have been delayed and the first ones are not expected to be up and running until 2012. It seems that almost every week the legal press mentions a business or brand ready to become an ABS, from the Co-op and DAS Insurance to online legal services on their way from the USA and established law firms like Irwin Mitchell, but they will have to wait as the parliamentary process needed to enact the legislation behind ABSs has been delayed.

Formal applications to become ABSs can only be submitted once the SRA is designated as a licensing authority and this is not likely until the end of 2011 at the earliest. Then the SRA can take up to six months to make a decision on a specific ABS application.

So, more competition in legal services is coming but high street law firms and solicitors have a little more time to consider their responses to this new competition.

For more information, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) published a guide to ABSs (www.sra.org.uk/abs) in August 2011 and a forthcoming Core Legal White Paper in October 2011 will explore their likely impact in more detail.

Related posts:

1. CPD Training course ‘Where are you in the race towards ABSs?’ (Alternative Business Structures)
2. The proposed new SRA regulations – ‘fudged’ not ‘focused’?
3. Uncertain Future For The Legal Market But Still Opportunities For Innovative Firms

In part 1 of a two-part article, Jon Hepburn from the Shropshire-based Fedora Consultancy point out how to make your campaign a success and avoid the pitfalls.

Advertising has an important role to play in bringing your product or services to the attention of potential clients. It performs a number of functions including profile-raising, communicating particular messages and positioning your firm in the marketplace.

1) The basics – when to use advertising

• To raise the firm’s profile within a particular target market.
• To communicate specific branding or positioning messages.
• To raise awareness of something new (a new service, case won, event etc ).
• To generate leads and new opportunities.

2) Planning – the key to advertising success

To maximise its effectiveness, your advertising campaigns should be part of a strategic communications plan. Consider the following:

• What is your firm trying to achieve?
• Make your campaign relevant to each product/service you offer and identify the best way of reaching the identified target audience.
• 2+2=5. Co-ordinating advertising with a creative and original PR campaign will have greater momentum and impact.This is essential as the average person is exposed to thousands of promotional message daily.

3) Getting maximum value and impact for your campaign

• Create and build awareness quickly by investing in more adverts at the start of the campaign, then reducing the frequency.
• Spending a large amount on advertising for short periods, then doing none for a long period is counter-productive.
• If budget is available, a more continuous approach to advertising throughout the year works better for existing services.

4) Putting it into practice –  client case study

• Opposite  are recent adverts from long-running campaign in ‘Etc’, a monthly regional lifestyle magazine for a law firm client.
• The advert is seasonal (it changes quarterly) and the message focuses on private client services.
• The campaign has helped GWCA Solicitors maintain their position as one of the leading law firms in West Sussex.

In part two next month, lots more including ‘finding your partner’; ‘testing, testing…’; ‘QR codes and getting traffic to your website’

To find out more please contact Jon  Hepburn at The Fedora Consultancy on 01743 366288 or visit http://www.fedoraconsultancy.co.uk/

Related posts:

1. What is actually meant by a business development campaign?
2. CoreLegal White Paper Part 2 – ‘Practical Tips for Effective Outsourcing’
3. E-newsletters: ‘Raise the bar and ditch the junk’

What’s actually done often depending on the culture of their firm. Jon Hepburn from The Fedora Consultancy and Managing Director of Legallybetter takes a closer look…

In the past there has been a ‘no one knows our clients better than we do’ attitude of some law firms in choosing to ignore the need for getting client feedback.

• Aside from non-compliance in the future, paying lip service to client satisfaction creates a false impression and does not measure progress.
• Whatever client feedback system or procedure is utilised there will always be a limited number of responses from clients as they are under no obligation to provide the information, but I recently met with a law firm recently that achieves a 70% response to questionnaires they send out.
• Those that do respond are more likely to be those that have stronger feelings (either positively or negatively) about the service they received.

Remember, “A happy client will probably tell a few people, but an unhappy client will tell a lot more.”

It’s better to find out and act on feedback than ignoring it and hope it goes away. In this age of mass communication and social media – that’s unlikely to happen.

• The increasing use of social media (LinkedIn, Facebook etc) to communicate is driving this change but it also helping the increasing number of ‘social media savvy’ sole practitioners and virtual law firms setting up in practice
• I believe that we will see an increasing awareness among solicitors of the need to manage their individual reputations, not just that of the law firm they work for.

So why do this?

There is little point for most law firms trying to compete on price unless they prepared to restructure their processes and fee systems – a big task. Leveraging your reputation as a source of competitive advantage much more sense.

• Perceptions of value are not just about price, especially where judgments by the client as to the quality of the service provided are very hard to make.
• Business development – client feedback surveys are not just something that should be done to comply but, in the new legal environment, should be seen as part of the business development process, e.g. client recommendations bring in new clients and new revenue, client suggestions can improve services etc.
• As a final thought, the value of existing clients is often forgotten in the search for new business.

To find out how Legallybetter can help your law firm call Jon Hepburn on 01743 366288 or email jon.hepburn@legallybetter.com for an online demonstration.

Related posts:

1. Measuring client satisfaction – will your law firm comply with new SRA regs?
2. Legallybetter’s new Client Feedback Service launched
3. Reviewing the role of the comparison site for law firms