Too little too late?

Are law firms too late to build the solicitor brand? asks Jon Robins

The holy grail of the post-Legal Services Act world appears to be the creation of a solicitor-led legal brand instantly recognisable by the public and which will see off competition from all those household names—Co-Op, Halifax,
Which? et al—heading their way.

National branding

The speed at which firms appear to be signing up to the QualitySolicitors scheme—100 new branches opened last week—suggests a somewhat late-in-the-day conversion on the part of the profession to the belief that salvation does indeed lie in the power of collective marketing schemes. Either that or it suggests the beginnings of mass panic ahead of the 6 October start date for alternative business structures (ABSs).

Another attempt to create a national legal brand called Face 2 Face Solicitors was launched earlier this month. It claims to be “the first solicitors’