Whatever your political views, there’s no doubt that a new government can provide excellent marketing opportunities for law firms – particularly those firms that like to keep their clients up to date with the latest legal developments.The reason is simply that new governments mean a sudden rush of new legislation, new rules, new attitudes and new approaches. Every little shift of policy, whether major or minor, is likely to have an impact on the lives and businesses of your clients.

Those clients will obviously want to know what’s happening. If they are to be affected by any changes, then what can they do about it? How can they avoid any problems or take advantage of any new openings?

These issues provide lawyers with opportunities to engage with clients, by alerting them to new developments and explaining what the impact is likely to be.

Of course, many proactive law firms will already be running a news and analysis service, but as time goes by it’s easy to run out of steam. This was particularly noticeable in the last six months of the Labour administration, when there seemed to be very little momentum around. Everyone seemed to be treading water and waiting to see what would happen when the new government arrived.

Well, now that new government is here and, like all new administrations, it’s keen to make an impression with a plethora of changes. Now is the time to get writing to explain those changes to your clients. Here are a few ideas that might be worth considering.

Default retirement age (DRA): Both your private and business clients would welcome clarification on what the abolition of the DRA will mean. For example, although the DRA will end next year, employers will still be able to oblige employees to stand down if it can be objectively justified. This will have to relate to the nature of the work, but some detailed analysis could be helpful for both employers and employees.

Holiday lettings: The government has just announced that it is going to change the special tax rules for furnished holiday lettings so that they comply with EU law. Many landlords and tourism businesses will be pleased to hear that the rules aren’t being scrapped altogether, but anxious to know more details about the new arrangements and what impact they are likely to have.

Licensing: The Home Office has taken full control of alcohol licensing as the government promises a tough new approach. Licensees will naturally want to know how they will be affected, as local communities are given more say over late night opening while the police and local authorities are given more powers to remove or refuse licenses.

Cutting red tape: Every new government promises to do this, but then perhaps that in itself could be the subject of your article. What can Vince Cable’s new reducing regulation committee really achieve? Businesses would certainly like to know and, of course, you can always alert clients to regulatory issues that may affect them. Perhaps you have heard of people being caught out by some regulation they hadn’t come across. In which case, your other clients may be interested to hear about it so they can avoid the same problem.

Equality Act: This was from the previous administration, of course, but there was some speculation that the coalition would not go ahead with it. Now they’ve confirmed that they will, but there’s still some uncertainty as to how and when some of the measures relating to equal pay will be introduced. Again, both employers and employees would welcome information about how the new government’s version of the act will affect them.

Wills and cross-border estates: The coalition has confirmed that the UK will opt out of European proposals on wills and cross-border estates. This could have implications for thousands of people who own property abroad. Explain the implications and you will be providing your clients with a valuable service.

Children and families taskforce: The new taskforce has a wide remit to look at better ways of helping children, parents and grandparents caught up in family breakdowns. This gives you endless opportunities to explore family issues that concern you, and highlight both potential problems and solutions for your clients.

These are just a few ideas of course, and it would be quite easy to compile another similar list of what the new government has announced so far. There will no doubt be several more announcements in the pipeline. My advice is to try to keep abreast of them, because they tend to come thick and fast in the first year of a new administration.

Each announcement is an opportunity to engage with your clients. Use whatever means is convenient for you. It could be an article on your website which can also be used in an email newsletter. It could be part of your quarterly print newsletter if you do one. You could produce a press release, and you could certainly create links to the article if you run Twitter, Facebook or other social media accounts.

The law is important to people because it affects their lives whether they like it or not. If you can take complex legal developments and explain them clearly, then you will be providing a useful service which helps cultivate that vital ongoing relationship with your clients.

Nick Kehoe is a former television and newspaper journalist. He is now managing director at law marketing firm Media Coverage.