Levelling up access to justice (Pt 2)

Last month, ownership of QualitySolicitors passed to yet another venture capitalist firm. Metamorph’s celebration was upbeat: this was part of its plan to be ‘one of the leading law groups focused on the private client and SME market’. Truth to tell, however QualitySolicitiors, has actually proved a bit of a dud. Formed in 2009 with high hopes, members never hit remotely near the original target of 1,000. Turnover was reported as under £1m last year. However, the news is significant for those interested in the impact of technology on legal practice for people on low incomes.

QualitySolicitors, let us remind ourselves, was formed originally as a response to Co-operative Legal Services (CLS), the pioneer in nationally branded, fixed fee, variously packaged services. The emergence of this alternative business structure with an internet interface and array of packages panicked the solicitors’ legal profession. ‘Are we’, they wondered,