In the south of
This investment has been supported with the recruitment of professional services marketeers. The result has been the introduction of business development planning, key account management and cross-selling programmes that in some cases are more advanced than City firms and the largest national rivals. In a relatively short time, this has seen law firms in the south build multi-service bluechip client bases that would sit well with mid-tier City practices. In the process, these firms have become first choice for employment, property, dispute resolution as well as commercial and mid-tier corporate work and many of their clients would not think of going elsewhere — especially back to a City firm.
National firms also feature strongly in the region. The largest are home grown, and have used their local success to springboard into other parts of the
City firms are increasingly active in the south of
What’s the difference?
This is the question that many bluechips are asking. The reality is that there is now very little to distinguish between these firms — most are full service, manage relationships in the same way, have the same value-added services and charge roughly the same prices. They also largely market themselves in the same way using generic promotional literature and newsletters as well as running briefing sessions, events and seminars.
The directories provide some help with their objective reviews of individuals and services, but are far from comprehensive and of little use when evaluating full-service firms. The legal press can also be useful for background information as well as some limited financials on City and national firms, but less so with the regional firms. After these, it quickly comes down to personal recommendation. Given that most organisations use lawyers sparingly, it is unlikely that this will help significantly when trying to judge a number of law firms objectively.
This means that comparing law firms in a thorough and meaningful way is and, at least for the time being, will continue to be a difficult and complex process requiring time, effort and specialist knowledge. The result is that even though businesses may be less than happy with the service or advice they receive, changing to another law firm and ensuring that they pick the right one requires a greater investment than most are prepared to make. What they frequently end up doing is using the lawyers that they always have just because it is an easier option — very much the case of better the devil they know.
The future
Given the sums that bluechips regularly spend on legal services, purchasing teams are increasingly being called in to help out. Many are applying the same rigorous approach used with all of their other important, high-value and long-term suppliers.
Law firms are often being asked to prove their financial stability through making available detailed financials and also to discuss their strategy and operational performance at firm and service level. Many are uncomfortable with this and regard it as impinging on the traditional client-lawyer and trusted adviser relationship. This is not the case and all purchasing teams are asking law firms to do is the same as any of their other suppliers. This is to be open and honest with them about how they run their business, how successful they are and what they intend to do in the future.
In the commercial world, much of this would be contained in an annual report. A number of regional firms recognise this and produce detailed documents that provide the information that purchasing teams are looking for. The more entrepreneurial are placing these in the public domain and using them as a marketing tool with the aim of ensuring inclusion in as many relevant bluechip tendering exercises as possible. As purchasing gets more and more involved in buying legal services, which it will do, this approach to openness will provide law firms with a clear competitive advantage. A number of regional firms in the south understand this and are leading the way.
Paul Brent is marketing director of Boyes Turner.