Consumers more likely to use law firm that’s active on social media… Lawyers should be upfront about prices says watchdog…
Law tech will “empower good lawyers”
New Law does not mean the end of lawyers but it will enable the best in the profession to be better.
That’s the view of Aron Solomon from the LegalX team of technology consultants MaRS who says that technology does not mean decimation of the profession… but its progression.
While the kind of change laid out in Richard Susskind’s book “The End of Lawyers” may be seen to some degree, even the end of billable hours is unlikely says Solomon. He believes that larger law firms and the specialists will continue to use traditional fee structures.
Consumers more likely to use law firm that’s active on social media
Law firms that are active on social media are more likely to be chosen by consumers according to a survey by Thomson Reuters’ FindLaw.
Using platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn would be seen as a factor in hiring a lawyer by 54 per cent of respondents, rising to 69 per cent among 18-44 year olds.
Lawyers should be upfront about prices says watchdog
The legal profession is not moving quickly enough to address the concerns of consumers over transparency in pricing and quality.
That’s the view of a consumer watchdog which says that the profession’s reluctance to provide consumers with the information they need in order to choose the appropriate provider for their needs is hampering its competitiveness.
In a letter responding to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority’s report into the legal services market, the Legal Services Consumer Panel’s chair Elisabeth Davies urges regulators to ensure that both price and quality information is made available.
Davies says that higher prices must not be assumed to equate to higher quality but that law firms should, where fixed prices is not feasible, provide details of the average cost of services they provide in each area of practice.
Meanwhile, the Law Society’s chief executive Catherine Dixon does not believe that further intervention from regulators is the right approach: “Where possible, solutions driven by the market are preferable to those driven by regulation and we believe that our legal services market is competitive and will continue to evolve and innovate to meet the needs of clients ever more effectively.”
