"So I wish QS well. Because rather than sitting back, wringing their hands and carping, those behind QS and the firms in the network have chosen to take the initiative"
This was the comment made yesterday in Legal Futures about Quality Solicitors.
We re-launched Clapham & Collinge Solicitors into the new trading style of QualitySolicitors Clapham & Collinge in February 2011.
Quite frankly we were nervous about it, as we are a traditional law firm, and so innovation isn't something you would have associated with us. We have been successful over the years, and the combination of expert advice and customer service has worked well. Our biggest fear was alienating our existing clients or being seen as being of less good quality.
As it has turned out our clients have been remarkably supportive and are interested in the changes that we are making.
Not everyone has understood what QualitySolicitors is, with some thinking it is more of a quality mark or trade association. Quality Solicitors isn't either of those things, it is a national brand of lawyers. The first national brand. It is groundbreaking.
The first stage was that we had to be assessed as a top quality firm, based on our own client’s giving feedback.
Once accepted we continue to be assessed so that we keep the brand strong and so that we can be genuine about our claims to provide excellent customer service. With our profile duly raised, the pressure on us to maintain our levels of service is great.
So the idea is that we, as a local independent firm of solicitors, are stronger as part of a national brand of solicitors. We can benefit from national media coverage and marketing.
We all buy from brands, and no matter how strong any one firm feels their local brand reputation is, the honest truth is that few people can actually even name any firms of solicitors.
I have always thought that the biggest problem for solicitors is that no-one knows who is good and who isn't, and they tend to rely on one that they have vaguely heard of. So if there is a national brand of solicitors that have been assessed for quality, surely that is better?
The next stage for us is the national partnership with WHSmiths, to provide access to legal services, without that scary first step of walking through the solicitors office doors.
Backed up with the promise that the first meeting is free, this just makes it vastly easier for people to ask if they have an issue that lawyers can help with, and to make sure that they have the right lawyer for them, and how much it will cost, without having to commit to pay a fee before you even have a meeting with the lawyer.
We will be launching our Legal Access Points in both the Gentleman’s Walk and St Stephens Street branches of WHSmiths next week, staffed by customer service staff who are approachable and will help people with whatever enquiry that they have.
It is free and with no obligation, so it gives people an option to find out what they need to without shelling out cash to do so. Customers don’t need to divulge any confidential or private information if they don’t want to, and they can simply give their details on an IPad, and a solicitor will call back if they wish.
There is a loyalty card that people can sign up to, and they will get discounts and offers from the card, together with information on future offers, such as discounts on legal services that may be offered too
Quality Solicitors also promise transparent pricing and fixed fees wherever possible. Again, a bit of a no brainer and something that our clients really love.