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The changing client

06 August 2009 / Tony Williams
Issue: 7381 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Profession
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Lawyers & law firms need to adapt to meet the needs of a more demanding client base, says Tony Williams

Law firms have had to anticipate and respond to the needs of their clients in order to stay in business.

This is as true in the high street as in the major city firms. It is even more the case today when, for the first time in a generation, we face an oversupply of lawyers.

This change is going to force law firms to understand how they are perceived by their clients, why their clients choose to use them and what causes a client to move to another law firm.
 

At a retail level, we live in a consumer society. We are used to being able to shop around, to compare products, have clear pricing and recourse to effective customer service teams to deal with any problems that arise. The interests of the consumer are key to the Legal Services Act, which is built on the principle of putting the consumer first.

Moving

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
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