The rules of engagement

The revolutionary new way to access legal services!” screamed the cartoon woman fronting the QualitySolicitors/WHSmith advert, an advert not in The Lawyer but on the front page of the Sunday Times. This comes on the back of QualitySolicitors’ prime time ITV campaign with the same cartoon woman floating across England in a balloon, enfranchising well-established local law firms into the QualitySolicitors brand. Earlier this year we had the regional ITV and Sky1 campaigns from legal price comparison website Wigster—more cartoon-based frolics there, too—and Location, Location, Location’s Phil Spencer fronting InDeed’s conveyancing adverts on behalf of the people behind RightMove. Don’t be surprised if there’s a Christmas version with Phil selling us conveyancing gift sets.

All this loud legal marketing is a pre-emptive move by some astute people to get a head start on the Legal Services Act and the introduction of alternative business structures (ABSs) next month. On a less garish note, we also have The Co-op and The AA offering