‘Productising’ legal services
Service businesses are hard to scale. Lawyers know this better than anyone. Income is intrinsically linked to time spent, even when working on a fixed fee, and cash recovery is lumpy.
Lawyers cannot do two things at once. They are either advising client A or drafting document B.
That is the nature of professional services, and it is why there is an upwards pressure on hourly rates and internal efficiencies, and downward pressure on overhead.
The same is true for any service business. The oven cleaning man can only do one job at a time, as can the mechanic and optometrist.
Law firm scale is traditionally achieved through leveraging people. A sole practitioner gets too busy and takes on an associate to handle the less complicated work. Then another lawyer and an administrator. Once you start adding support services, the modern law firm starts to take shape.
In this post, we cover:
- Another way to scale
- How can we translate this to legal services
- ‘Unbundled’ legal services
- Examples
WhatsApp with your clients? Read this before sending private texts
Samantha Bray looks at the pros and cons of using services like WhatsApp to communicate with clients.
At a recent SRA event (‘Innovation – making business ideas a reality’), there was a short conversation about the use of WhatsApp.
A quick poll of the solicitors in the room concluded that many of those in attendance use WhatsApp to communicate with their clients.
The SRA presenter responded with words of encouragement and clearly saw this as a very positive sign of innovative engagement – reaching clients in a way that suits them.
One could even argue that this is consistent with paragraph 4.2 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Firms (“You ensure that the service you provide to clients is competent and delivered in a timely manner, and takes account of your client’s attributes, needs and circumstances”).
To be honest, we were a bit surprised that this use of WhatsApp (and presumably other similar services like Telegram or Signal) is so prevalent. There are clearly some risk issues to consider.
In this post we look at:
- Why do law firms use WhatsApp to communicate with clients?
- Issue 1: Lack of visibility
- Issue 2: Data security and confidentiality
- Issue 3: Unrecorded time
- The IT expert’s perspective (thanks to Alex Hutchinson)
- Tips for using WhatsApp in law firms
A ‘grievous blow’ to data rights: What you need to know about Lloyd v Google and the future of group actions
You will have seen this week’s landmark decision of Lloyd v Google in the news.
Our friends at international law firm Milberg LLP represented the claimant in the case, all the way to the Supreme Court. Milberg partner Edward Cardington talks us through the key points:
- What was this week’s Supreme Court decision in Lloyd v Google about, and why was it important?
- Why did the Supreme Court find in favour of Google?
- Could Lloyd v Google affect how big companies use our data?
- What is the likely impact on future data protection and other types of group action claims?
- Does the decision make group actions any less attractive in the jurisdiction?
News and Guidance
Law Society Updates
- Updated Practice Note: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013
SRA Updates
- Updated Guidance: Firm risk assessments
Webinars
Fraud and cybercrime: what you need to know
When: Wednesday 17th November, 12:00 PM (via Zoom)
We are delighted to welcome Adam Richardson to our webinar this month. Adam is a barrister at One Essex Court – Chambers of Ian Mayes QC and contributing author of Cybercrime: Law and Practice (both first and second edition).
Key Objectives
- – From light compliance to heavy regulations – a walkthrough of the current regulatory framework
- Threat detection – how to spot and contain a data breach
- Prevention vs cure? – best practice approach to data breaches
- The future of the field – claims, compliance and beyond
Who should attend?
Law firm leaders, COLPs, COFAs, fee earners and support staff
Spaces are limited to 100 attendees, so if you or your team would like to join, please don’t leave it to the last minute. You can register in advance for this webinar here.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Disciplinary decisions
- Amjad Hussain – section 43 disqualification order after breaching a long list of conduct rules and principles during his tenure as COLP, COFA and manager of Saffron Solicitors.
- Faraidon Raza – section 43 disqualification order after failing to keep proper books of account at UK & Co Solicitors Limited.
- James Michael Gregson – indefinitely suspended following a common assault conviction in 2018. According to The Blackpool Gazette, the incident involved a pan of dumplings and a poor shot by Ronnie O’Sullivan.
- Katie Michell – paralegal at DAC Beachcroft disqualified under section 43 for misleading insurer clients.
- Muhammed Bhurhan Uddin – Capisticks solicitor rebuked and fined for sending offensive messages on a group WhatsApp chat.
- Sandra Campbell – struck off after misappropriating £165,000 of client funds.
- Qurat Ul Ain Akbar – Registered Foreign Lawyer struck off after dishonestly misleading SRA investigators.
