chargers and trends in legal services

• there are three areas to consider in changes and trends in legal services

  • impact of legal services act 2007
  • impact of technology
  • impact of globoli
• legal service act 2007

  Clementi Report 2004 - on the regulatory framework for legal services in England and Wales led to the legal services act 2007. This act introduced some key reforms including the independent regulation and alternative business structures
• INDEPENDENT REGULATION of the legal professions, overseen by a Legal Service Board with a duty to promote the interests of the public consumers.

  Non-lawyers permitted to own and operate law firms for the first time (Alternative Business Structures)
• the idea behind the legal service act 2007 is to offer more choice to consumers and to attract external investment into law firms, however, some argue that this will result in the market for legal services being dominated by a few large firm, there is also concerns that such firms may use less qualified lawyers in order to cut costs resulting in a lower quality legal advice being made to public
• technology


  • some routine legal matters can be dealt with online e.g. donotpay.co.uk - new composition for law firms
  • firms will be able to use technology to automate processes to save money and to predict outcomes of cases more accurately
  • technology will benefit large firms carrying out high volume work which will be able to lower costs and increase profit margins
  • new areas of law provide new opportunities for law firms e.g in cybersecurity
• globalisation (trade increasingly conducted internationally)

  • opportunities to move into growing markets such as china and indonesia
  • outsourcing secretarial services to save money
  • uncertainty due to brexit is making strategic planning difficult for city law firms
  • smaller firms are being taken over by large foreign firms e.g. slater & gordon