Lawstore expands in regions as it moves out of London

LawStore, the legal consumer brand with national aspirations, is moving ahead with regional outlets after a setback in central London.

Set up by Bromley-based MTA Solicitors, LawStore opened as a walk-in shop in the Glades shopping centre in 2010, with all the legal work being referred to the MTA office around the corner.

Two years later MTA took an interest in Cambridge-based Crossmans Solicitors, which has now been rebranded and is up and running under the LawStore banner.

The business is also in advanced talks with a firm in the North West, and has agreed terms with another in Birmingham.

In both cases, MTA's chief executive David Green told Solicitors Journal, the firms will initially operate as MTA-LawStore.

Manchester could be next - MTA's founder Michael Taylor has been operating from there for a while - but Green said they didn't want to do "too much, too soon".

The plan, Green said, is to have three new LawStores by the end of the year.

"The idea for the LawStores is to generate work for the firms behind the project," Green said, adding that the business was now considering whether to charge a referral. But unlike, QualitySolicitors, the LawStore brand is developed "using our own people".

London has been a less fortunate experience, with the LawStore off Fleet Street turning out to be "an expensive shop front that didn't deliver what LawStore is trying to do", Green said.

That office has now reverted to being an MTA branch.

As with the first LawStore in the Glades, the Cambridge business is dedicated solely to fee earning, with all back-office functions handled from MTA in Bromley.

Green said MTA expected the Cambridge LawStore to be profitable in its own right within a few years.

He said the Bromley LawStore was now profitable, with clients having to book appointments rather than just walk in, and a third solicitor being recruited to meet demand.

There was now also a call centre where clients can speak to a lawyer, but Green said there were no plans for a web-based service offering free legal help.

"The public doesn't seem to be ready for that," he said. "It works where people are worried about fees, and where this is the case, we explain to clients they can do some of the admin and form filling themselves to cut down on costs."

"Our experience is that consumers want to know what they're paying for, it's not about people getting something for free," Green continues.

"The first half hour is free but it's not advice, it's a consultation. Fees are discussed then and we look at funding options. We've found that there's a bigger take-up by putting the whole conversation about fees first."

In 2010 LawStore launched what was believed to be the first legal expenses insurance scheme operated by a law firm.

MTA is holding separate discussions with another firm in Kent to open an additional office under the MTA brand.