Don't be afraid of legal changes
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by Des Hudson, chief executive
of the Law Society
This year settled the final legislative steps for what is
fast becoming a new legal landscape.
Next year the ripples of this change will continue to
be felt throughout England and Wales, including across Kent.
That is not something to be afraid of. The thriving legal
services market means that Kent's legal sector and wider business
community all have a major role to play in helping UK plc develop
stronger commercial links with the rest of the world to help drive
and support economic growth.
The Law Society must be a catalyst for the positive aspects of
this change. We are embarking on a process of reorganisation and
restructuring to ensure that we continue to offer an exemplary
level of support and service to all our members.
At the start of 2011 we launched the Conveyancing Quality Scheme
(CQS) to support our members who were feeling the financial
pressure of reduced property transactions and the difficulties of
belonging to lenders' panels. This has been expertly steered by Law
Society Council Member for Kent, Jonathan Smithers.
In less then a year CQS has helped to change the home-buying
market for the better, with more than 1,000 CQS firms in England
& Wales, and I am pleased to say there has been a particularly
strong take up in Kent. The CQS accreditation acknowledges the
rigorous application process firms have to undergo and the high
standards of professionalism and excellent customer care that CQS
accredited members offer clients during the conveyancing
process.
Quality marks such as CQS or the practice management standard,
Lexcel, will become even more important for our members during 2012
as the effects of Alternative Business Structures (ABS) is seen. In
an increasingly crowded and competitive market consumers are going
to want to place their trust in a firm that stands-out from the
rest.
Nobody, including the Law Society, knows for sure what effects
ABS will have on the legal services market in 2012 but we can take
an educated guess.
Inevitably there will be opportunities for law firms in Kent who
may benefit from greater investment to help them grow and innovate
but undoubtedly it does mean that there will be greater
competition.
Neither should firms regard ABS primarily as something "which
will be done to them".
Although we do not know what type of business models or
strategies will gain the most prominence over the coming year, one
would expect entities, whatever their make-up or funding to seek
out the most efficient and advantageous way of operating for
themselves.
This means that while there will be greater opportunities all
law firms should take the opportunity to ask themselves "what is
the most efficient business model for us" and deliver more
innovative ways of providing services, think about varied funding
for their firms, work collaboratively with new partners and seize
the initiatives in delivering excellent customer service.
I am confident that the future remains bright for solicitors who
do this.
People and businesses will always want their legal matters to be
dealt with by knowledgeable professionals with consumer guarantees
who have a duty to put their clients' interests before their
own.
Kent has a strong legal sector with an excellent network of
active and independent local law societies who are working with us
to help shape a positive future for the local and national legal
services market.
Monday, January 09 2012
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