Consumers are starting to flex their “buying muscle”, says Jon Robins
Should lawyers need further convincing that the main point about the Clementi reforms, the Legal Services Act and now the new alternative business structure market entrants is improving the lot of the consumer (and not inconveniencing lawyers), then it’s well worth checking out the Legal Services Consumer Panel’s (LSCP) Tracker survey which came out at the end of last month .
“The success of the reform should be ultimately be judged by how consumers experience legal services,” begins this annual health-check. Quite. It is only “year 2” for the survey but it promises to become a vital measure of the effectiveness of changes in the newly liberalised legal services sector. Two key indicators of the changing market, as correctly identified by the LSCP, independent research arm of the Legal Services Board, are increasing choice of provider and price certainty—in particular, the preparedness of consumers to “shop around” for legal services and the availability of fixed fees.
The consumer’s buying muscle
Just over one fifth of the public (22%) now shop around for legal
