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25 January 2007 / Eddie Ryan
Issue: 7257 / Categories: Features , Profession
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The unmet need

Consumer demand will drive the Co-operative Group’s legal services venture, says Eddie Ryan

As far as most individuals are concerned they would be perfectly happy to go through life without ever having to instruct a solicitor or other legal professional.

This is because obtaining legal services is, on the whole, a purchase of necessity or of distress. Circumstances either compel people to use a lawyer’s services so, for example, all the work on a house move can be completed—if the necessary legal work was not completed there would be no new house to enjoy; or people turn to lawyers because something has gone wrong—maybe their family is breaking up, they have been involved in an accident, or they have been arrested. No one wakes up in the morning and thinks: “Today I am going to buy some legal services.”

Since this is the reality of the market-place lawyers operate in, legal providers need to do all they can to ensure their clients get the best possible service, delivered in the most efficient and customer-focused manner.
This has been the government’s focus over the course of

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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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