By Neil Rose


Some of the UK's biggest financial institutions - including HBOS, NatWest and More Th>n - could tie up with a select number of large law firms next year to promote web-based services at fixed fees, putting further pressure on high-street solicitors, it has emerged.



MyLawyer - a new service being rolled out by legal IT company Epoq, which has relationships with top financial institutions - has signed up Welsh firm Hugh James, Manchester-based Pannone and Nelsons in the East Midlands to its network.



The network will be aggregated into a single 'virtual' law firm via the MyLawyer website - effectively a referral panel - which Epoq aims to promote nationwide and through the financial institutions with which it already has relationships, including HBOS, RBS, NatWest, More Th>n, Allianz and ARAG.



Epoq is best known for its Rapidocs document and form automation technology, which is used by Halifax Legal Solutions (HLS). The MyLawyer service could step in when subscribers require advice not covered by HLS.



HLS head Joel Ripley told the Gazette that he was 'certainly considering' such a move, which would be a 'very natural fit'. He added: 'Blending [MyLawyer] with a brand like Halifax will add an extra layer of reassurance.'



Solicitor Richard Cohen, Epoq's joint chief executive, said: 'Those law firms who have not yet or are unable to consider the ramifications of a changing market may end up facing a second, possibly greater challenge than that exerted by the major financial institutions.



'High-street solicitors stand to lose market share to other law firms that are embracing the competitive advantage of technology and the distribution of the internet.'



MyLawyer provides the firms in the network with an extension to their websites through which potential clients can instruct their solicitors and generate draft documentation themselves. Once the documentation is reviewed and further issues identified, they could then become regular clients.



Epoq is currently negotiating with the firms over service and fee levels for clients who access advice this way, and is still looking for a limited number of firms 'of a certain size' to join its panel. In return, Epoq receives a share of the revenue as permitted by rule 8.02 of the Code of Conduct.



Cohen said the service would both reduce costs by cutting out the initial work and allow lawyers to charge more by focusing on providing expert advice.