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I am not so pessimistic about firms learning to market their services for criminal work if they are left with only an own client contract.
I don't really see the incentive for criminal solicitors to be particularly good at their jobs if they get work handed to them on a rota. If I ever needed criminal legal advice, I would be extremely suspicious of using the duty solicitor who happened to be on the rota when I was arrested, and would instead seek recommendations for good solicitors.
I am not denigrating the quality of duty solicitors, I just want to emphasize that there is some scope for survival apart from being on the rota.
There is nothing demeaning or humiliating about having to market yourself to get new clients (whether that's building stellar word of mouth, advertising, or networking) - the rest of us have to do it.