Category Archives: Law as a business

The Grand Delusion revisited

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In 2012, I published a post about the ‘grand delusion’ that all is well in the land of law.  Earlier this week, an experience was shared with me that provided a vivid reminder of it.

Let me relay a story of a lady who wished to engage a firm of lawyers in December 2015.  She was enquiring on behalf of a group of people who wished to invest in freehold property, as well as set up a management company.  The value of the real estate involved would be about £3 million.  For most small and medium-sized law firms, the legal fees involved (and the prospect of continuing work) are probably not to be sniffed at. Continue reading →

The Future of Buying Legal Services

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Introduction

I’m not going to try here* to cover the waterfront, but rather offer a few observations and reflections on the turn of events that prompts us to be considering so seriously the process that leads to the delivery of legal advice and representation to clients.

Part of the challenge here, it seems to me, lies in the nature of the four principal factors or ‘moving parts’ that form the backdrop to procurement. These are: cost; price; value; and relationship. There are different types of legal services – ranging from highly bespoke and ‘bet-the-company’ issues to routine, standardised and commoditised offerings. And there are different types of procurement – ranging from personal engagement, through professional procurement and tender processes, to buying online with no human interaction at all.

What is clear is that not all types of procurement are appropriate to all types of services. The real issue, as I see it, lies in the potential disconnects among cost, price, value and relationship. There is an inevitable tension between short-term procurement wins and longer-term legal or relationship consequences. There are times or circumstances when cost-cutting just isn’t worth it. Continue reading →

The necessary tension between regulation and innovation

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This morning’s result from the UK General Election 2015 prompts thoughts about ‘where next for the legal landscape during the next Parliament?’.  Although I suspect that the political outcome of the Election would have made little actual difference to future public funding for legal aid, it is likely that the number of citizens facing a potentially unmet need for legal advice and representation in the next few years will continue to increase unless new forms of provision can be encouraged.  Given that these new forms will not be paid for from the public purse, private and third sector innovation must be key.

Continue reading →