CO-OPERATIVE LEGAL SERVICES




The Co-op is going to offer family law legal services as soon as it can obtain the necessary licence from the SRA. Its recent press release suggested that it would be looking to recruit lots of family lawyers as a result.


“Is it good news other than for those lawyers whose positions might be at risk with the demise of legal aid?” Of course it is, anything with the potential for increasing standards on the high street is always good.


“Why is the Co-op choosing to go down this route, surely it has no previous expertise in the area?” Maybe not, but it has already recruited well established lawyers to head up and advise on the initiative and don’t forget that it has a long history of offering services at times of human misery as its funeral parlours already demonstrate.


“Okay but what’s in it for customers?” (Note we no longer call them clients) Well there won’t be any old fashioned “divis” but we can probably expect a move towards fixed pricing rather than hourly rates although I don’t anticipate that we shall see any two for one offers.


“How do the traditional high street firms feel?” Oh they are over the moon. To know that in the future their opposition has to live up to their label of co-operative, is like manna from heaven for those solicitors and their clients used to being dragged through the court process. Maybe collaborative law will expand even further!


Comments

great post dude...It provides Famliy Law legal services....
Reform is needed for sure. Too many clients and to many solicitors are being dragged through the court process because of its being a archaic, dysfunctional system. As a result, money gets wasted on unnecessary legal fees and court costs (not to mention time gets wasted as well) - glad to see reform.
A move which benefits many people, and saves lots of money.
I dont think the new entrants will have as much impact as many people think.
Have you seen the Quality Solicitors stands in WHSmith? They are manned by sales people - not lawyers. This could do their brand more harm than good.
Firms like the Co-op could be a threat to established law firms. They have a trusted, ethical brand and plenty of marketing power. I think these types of firms are more of a threat than start ups like Quality solicitors.
Establishing trust in a brand takes many years, if not decades.

Popular Posts