Your editorial perpetuates the myth that solicitors' firms still have time to prepare for 'the invasion' from non-solicitor-led legal services (see [2007] Gazette, 6 September, 14). That invasion is already well under way with service offerings too numerous to list here.


Large-scale public promotions have yet to be seen. However, solicitors should consider the effect on their levels of new work from just one example: when Halifax Legal Solution uses every Halifax branch window around the country to promote its services, how will that affect new instructions locally?



The timetable for introducing formal alternative business structures will restrict the ability of small and medium-sized firms from finding outside management help while the 'invasion' continues. Accepting non-lawyer partners is the way to attract and retain top-quality management people to a service industry that is in desperate need of those skills. Senior and managing partners must act now to address the threats to their business. They have weeks, not months.



Alastair Moyes, Marketlaw Ltd, Chichester, West Sussex