The way legal services are delivered in Scotland is changing. Marketing and public relations is now an integral part of the job and if the 10,000 or so solicitors in Scotland don't accept this, then a lot of them are going to find themselves out of one.

Down south alternative business structures came into force this month which allow supermarkets and other non legal firms to compete with solicitors for the first time. 

 

While the change to the law in Scotland has also been passed, no timetable has yet been established for implementation, but it is coming. So far the Co-op is the biggest name to muscle in on the legal market down south offering legal services through its network of banks. If successsful in bidding for the Lloyds Pharmacy chain this will open up another 600 plus potential outlets. The economic downturn has led to a general drop off in legal work anyway, but if established firms don't wake up to this new threat they will see business drop off a cliff.

 

To make matters worse supermarkets are only part of the threat. Solicitors should also be looking to how the eye care market has changed for a glimpse of the future. Once the preserve of a closed shop of small independent practitioners, since the market was opened up to competition 80% of all optician work is now done by two companies Specsavers and VisionExpress.

A Leicester based solicitors has similar plans for the legal market.

Quality Solicitors is planning to move north of the border some time this year and already has 220 odd branches already established down south. They plan to make the company the first true high street solicitors brand with network stretching the length of the UK.

Unlike the two main national opticians QS works on a different business model – franchising. Every participating firm must abide by the Quality Solicitors brand, marketing and IT guidelines and general standards of service, rules which include opening on Saturdays and having a transparent and fixed pricing structure. In return they get marketing and PR support from the umbrella company driving business to them and other scalable benefits of being part of a large orgnisation. 

Other players are coming into the market down south as well,  In-Deed provide will writing and conveyancing online. 

So far the profession north of the border is sleep walking into these changes at best or at worst has its head stuck in the sand.

Marketing activity within the sector needs to get a lot smarter and more creative than sponsoring the odd art show. For when the Co-op, Tesco and others start putting some serious resources into the sector, newcomers like QS will be the least of the establishment's problems.