The future is boutique

The idea that law firms would start offering concierge services is daft enough. That some lawyers would somehow consider the alternative business structure vehicle an attractive model to take this proposition forward verges on fictional.

Still, this is what may be happening as a number of boutique firms are reportedly looking into ABSs to bring on board providers of non-legal services.

Those with a long memory will remember the rise and fall of KLegal, the lawyer-accountant tie-up set up by KPMG. Its demise left a scar on the whole market and it took the Legal Services Act to bring multidisciplinary practices back in favour as a resolutely positive business model.

If the latest SRA figures on Friday that 121 organisations have applied to become ABSs are a good reflection of what is going on in law firm boardrooms around the country, then the vast majority of aspiring ABSs are not large outfits.

But why would small boutique firms want to expand precious management time and resources offering services such as sorting out travel arrangements, booking hotels or sending flowers to your partner?

To an extent, this question is already old hat. Some firms are already doing it, albeit through external suppliers. The most well-known is probably the one launched by Mishcon de Reya with luxury lifestyle business Quintessentially and there are a few in America.

For these firms concierge services are a natural extension of what they do for their clients. If your client is late for his next appointment you will surely ask your assistant to call a taxi for them. Have they been delayed in traffic and unable to stop to buy their wife flowers for their anniversary date? You will probably offer that the receptionist arrange a delivery while you have your meeting. If not, you should '“ because the age of ABSs is all about client focus.

Your immediate reaction might be that offering these services will distract you from delivering the core legal services that have defined the business of generations of lawyers. It isn't. It is simply a modern way of looking at what putting the client first means.

There would be a certain irony in law firms offering these services via an ABS. It would, for instance, reverse the 'white labelling' process that currently sees firms offer their services to non-legal organisations that sell them under their brand '“ think Parabis and The AA for instance. And, instead of being the target of private equity investors, law firms would be in the driving seat in any ABS negotiation with a non-legal investor.

The trouble is that few firms are in a position to develop their strategy in this way. Mishcon's services, symptomatically, are aimed at its high-net-worth clients. When I spoke to Baker Tilly's head of professional services George Bull earlier this week, the word Mayfair was mentioned. But it doesn't mean that firms with a less affluent client base shouldn't consider it. If you are, like most smaller and medium-sized firms, serving the whole of your community including local SMEs, then offering services such as office relocation or building maintenance could be just the way to consolidate long-term relationships.