The bar – ready to compete with solicitors?
Participating in the IBC Conference in Manchester recently, I heard Nick Green QC speak in person about his vision for the bar, and came away with a copy of his excellently clear paper The Future of The Bar.
Typically, most conference packs that I pick up float around in the boot of my car for a few weeks or quickly find a home in the corner of my office before eventually making it into the recycling bin. Not this one. It provides a frank and refreshing analysis of the bar’s market position and should be essential reading for all managing partners, business development specialists and marketing directors in law firms.
Having given much thought to the challenges and opportunities arising from the changes to the competitive environment within the legal profession, I confess that I had really not given a great deal of thought to the potential of direct competition from the bar. Having spoken to a number of our clients since, I was comforted by the fact that I was not alone in this.
I had seen a few disparaging remarks on the Gazette website and LinkedIn discussions and assumed – wrongly – that the bar was bogged down in internal debate and was nothing much to worry about.
On the contrary, the impression that I gained was that Nick Green QC and his team had a very clear assessment of their market position, threats and opportunities, and a clear plan regarding how to go about exploiting their competitive strengths.
Given that Nick Green QC specialises in competition law, and some leading brains at Freshfields have been involved in developing the ProcureCo structure, it will be interesting to see this in action. Solicitors with a history of tendering for business will know that there is a lot more expertise required when it comes to getting on to tender lists, being shortlisted and obtaining a position on a panel. Even this is not a guarantee of work!
As with solicitors, there are innovators within the bar who are already moving to take competitive advantage of recent reforms, which include removing restrictions upon barristers practising in partnership and increasing the right of barristers to engage in direct access work. In fact, I know a number of chambers who have employed experienced business development professionals from top law firms for a number of years.
With all the focus being on ‘Co-op Law’ (as I prefer to call it), it is perhaps an easy mistake to forget to look for competition from below you in the food chain – when you are expecting the threat to come from above.
However, with potentially so much to lose, it might be a mistake to underestimate someone with so much to gain.
’He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his opponents is sure to be captured by them’ says Sun Tzu in The Art of War.
To exercise a little forethought about competition from the bar, download The Future of the Bar.
Comments
Customer care
Naturally, some barristers will compete very well indeed and probably successfully in areas where frankly, clients might as well go direct anyway.
But most barristers are very, very good at law but appalling at anything to do with running a business but more especially customer care or perhaps I should say "stakeholder care" as I refer here to care of the lay client and care of the solicitor.
They insist upon taking cheques, no BACs or 20th Century nonsense like that. Requests to change this are met with "Oh, no they won't agree to that" Hello, who is the customer?!
Some will use email but many, many won't. How they talk to clients can be dreadful.
If they compete in business with me, I'll compete with them and I will win. I think this comment applies to many law firms across the country.
The bar doesn't frighten meas a potential competitor
Andrew is entirely right . I'm sure the bar do want a chunk of our work. Some of the more astute members of the bar might be able to compete for some of our work -- especially when legal opinion on highly complex commercial work is required. But is the bar really going to be a threat to the rest of us in private practice. They haven't got a clue - they have no training or experience in running files, dealing with clients or any of the most basic elements of private practice. they have no client base, and no marketing experience. There are a number of very real threats to our work as solicitors - but as a potential competitor, the bar doesn't frighten me -- bring it on!
The Bar competing with solicitors
Nick Green QC is doing a great job. Plain speaking and clear thinking is what is required to focus the Bar on the opportunities and challenges of a very different future and his papers and public addresses are concentrating on just that.
Sadly, there are only a few of the 330 or so chambers in England & Wales who are responding. Half a dozen of the larger, smarter sets have plans afoot and are translating this into action. Few of the others are doing anything and seem to be paralysed with fear and indecision.
Recently I mailed 80 selected provincial chambers offering my help on 'ProcureCos and beyond' (I do know a bit about business development, tender submissions and contract management). I got 10 replies. Of those 10 only 5 have translated into meaningful face-to-face discussions and 2 (wirh a 3rd pending) have become clients. I have no idea what the rest are doing but, having listened to clerks in many of them who say their masters aren't doing anything, I don't think solicitors have much to fear.
Bar v/s Solicitors
They have no training or experience in running files, dealing with clients or any of the most basic elements of private practice. they have no client base, and no marketing experience. There are a number of very real threats to our work as solicitors.
Sadly, there are only a few of the 330 or so chambers in England & Wales who are responding. Half a dozen of the larger, smarter sets have plans afoot and are translating this into action.
f they compete in business with me, I'll compete with them and I will win. I think this comment applies to many law firms across the country.
Watch this Space.....
"They have no training or experience in running files, dealing with clients or any of the most basic elements of private practice. they have no client base, and no marketing experience"
I can see the point being made... however, as a Bar graduate, going into chambers, who has spend significant time both running files, dealing with clients (both in high street and 'co-op law' as well as working in marketing, it could be next generation of Barristers that need to be watched...
The bar – ready to compete with solicitors?
Thank you Sue for a very enlightened review of the current state of affairs regarding this subject.
My comment is that I do believe that some of these older staid legal practices might consider taking in someone like myself who have been working in the business world and have developed a great deal of experience and acumen in the fields of commerce, financial, legal and technological expertise.
I say this as it is my belief that someone like myself with all these years of competent and successful business in the real work could really add value to some of the legal companies in advising on how the real world thinks and how to approach the interface with business in general. To be able to explain the real practical world of commerce in plant and manufacturing and the likes and what the businesses actually are trying to achieve. Once this concept could be imparted to the legal professionals they would find the application of pure law much easier to bring to the fore for their interaction with business in a practical ambit.
There are a few of us around that have worked for many years in the field and have taken it on themselves to learn, study and research the various disciplines so as to be able to communicate with engineers, business people, production types, technological experts, R&D and the legal profession and to do this through the broad and deep understanding of these fields through years of real experience and actually doing the work as opposed to being taught in a university. We have been taught though the university of life and have a lot to offer.
I would also be the first one to warn against the many that could profess to have this background and experience but actually have 30 time 1 year experience instead of a real 30 years experiences.
Perhaps something the legal professional might like to consider and comment.
Gary Johnston-Webber
gjw.consulting@vodamail.co.za