Clients value service more

Unless you are in a pub quiz team I reckon that the value that we place on expert knowledge is diminishing. At the same time the value placed on good, intelligent service is increasing.

This shift hasn't happened overnight, but for law firms these two elements have been brought into sharp focus over the past few years. It is often argued that the tough times being felt by law firms is down to the economic downturn, cuts to legal aid, heightened competition from ABSs or the financial impacts of the Jackson reforms. Banks, professional indemnity insurers, lenders, and regulators all come in for criticism; in some cases deservedly so. While each of these elements are proving to be catalysts for change in the profession, this unprecedented pressure is because legal knowledge is no longer valued or understood as it was.

Everyone now researches online. Everyone can access the law for free. This ease of access has meant that the respect that lawyers had for knowing the law has eroded. Is that a bad thing? Well, in typical lawyerly fashion I would say that "it depends". It depends if despite the devaluation, clients still expect to get an experienced, qualified lawyer but don't see the need to pay what they consider to be over the odds for one.

Whichever way we look at it, society has decided that too much is spent on law and lawyers; as a consequence, less money is invested and law is being dumbed down. Litigants in person are on the up, non-qualified paralegals on low salaries are on the up. The main adjustment that needs to happen is in the minds of lawyers and would-be lawyers. If clients are not prepared to pay a 'knowledge premium' for their legal services providers, then the value of lawyers is necessarily downgraded and lawyers' pay will be less.

It won't be easy for law firms to manage salaries down without losing reputation. However, for too many years arrogant journeymen lawyers have felt entitled to a good living and it was allowed to persist because society valued their knowledge and tolerated their service. Those days have gone, or at least they have at my firm where we recognise that clients increasingly value service (process) and tolerate knowledge (advice). Successful firms in the future will get a proper handle on these changes. The real fall guys in this are those who are coming through law schools with dreams of status, '¨a decent income and making '¨a difference. I fear that many will simply be left with debt, frustration and broken dreams − and they're the ones who manage to get jobs. SJ

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