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16 June 2011 / Joe Reevy
Issue: 7470 / Categories: Features , Profession , Marketing
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It’s good to talk

Concerned about the future of legal services? Talk to your accountant, suggests Joe Reevy

Concerned about the future of legal services? Talk to your accountant, suggests Joe Reevy
A couple of things are beginning to annoy me about the debate about the future of legal services.
The first is that the way the debate is being presented is that there is one of two possible futures for law firms. One of these is to “brand build” and the other is no future at all: an unavoidable, slow, painful demise for firms that don’t take certain actions. I just don’t believe that the future for law firms is anywhere near as black and white as it is being portrayed.

The second annoyance is the old chestnut that services are to be commoditised and that the inevitable result of this will be more work being done on ever lower margins and (here we go again) an unavoidable, slow, painful demise for firms that don’t take certain actions.
These positions have been repeated so often that they risk becoming accepted wisdom, which would be a pity.

First,

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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