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March of the big brand

13 May 2011 / Jon Robins
Issue: 7465 / Categories: Opinion , Legal services , Profession
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Part 2: Jon Robins continues his predictions on how deregulation will affect the legal services market

The purpose of the reform agenda of the Legal Services Act 2007 is to unleash the powers of competition thus enabling consumers to have greater choice and access to improved services. However, if the only criterion for exercising choice is price, as distinct from judgments made on an understanding as to quality, then there’s a problem.

“Quality” in legal services is a slippery and elusive concept, as was made clear from the three comments below taken from a recent report by the Legal Services Consumer Panel (Quality in Legal Services, November 2010).
 

  • Consumer A: “You only buy or sell a house once or twice in your lifetime…you’ve no yardstick to measure them by.”
  • Consumer B: “They’re all solicitors and qualified to a similar level, and so it doesn’t matter whether they’re charging you £200 or £800.”
  • Consumer C: “We put ourselves in their hands and because they’re qualified and they’re professionals, we just hope and
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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
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
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
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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