Alternative Business Structures in the World of Probate

October 2011 saw the arrival of Alternative Business Structures (ABS). We are led to believe that retailers and membership organizations are lining up to take over private client services, with Tesco, SAGA and the AA top of the list.  So how can lawyers compete with the might of such behemoths?
Luckily, Conveyancers and Licensed Conveyancers have a strong position on the High Street, a commodity being leveraged by the likes of Quality Conveyancers group, who provide marketing services to a network of Conveyancers creating a nationwide brand easily recognised by the consumer. 

However, it will take more than High Street presence to compete with the likes of Tesco.  It is anticipated that costs will reduce as the ABS move to a fixed fee regime.  Tesco will still need to do the legal work to the regulatory standards but how they will do it will be different.  To compete, it’s time for High Street practices to think differently too.

Cost

With the advent of ABS, the days of charging a percentage of the estate or at an hourly rate will be numbered.

With this in mind, Licensed Conveyancers and Conveyancers are already looking at alternative pricing models to remain competitive. Fixed fee models, much like we are used to in the Conveyancing sector, may be a way that the legal services sector can compete with the new entrants.
To ensure that the work remains profitable, it will be essential for the High Street lawyer to review the work he does to identify the low value work, which does not require legal expertise, and can be dealt with by more junior staff or outsourced.  In this way, the fixed charges can be applied to the core legal work in administering the estate.

But what do you outsource?  The obvious things are those which require no legal knowledge but are time hungry.  It’s the 80/20 rule where you find that 20% of the activities take 80% of the time.

These might be:-

All these activities can be outsourced to expert organisations created to provide high quality service to the probate industry.

Delivery

There is a high level of trust  involved when working with a Licensed Conveyancer and just because the big players in the market will be able to move into this sector, doesn’t necessarily mean that individuals will want to work with them.
Whilst the low value/non-legal activities can safely be outsourced, what will be key to differentiating your service will be delivery of the core service and that’s where the High Street lawyer wins out. 
With years of experience, backed with reliable technology, they can provide an empathetic, efficient service where larger ABS style companies will leverage their scale to compete aggressively on price, increasingly using non-qualified staff for legal activities.
Technology is the key; a good case management system is essential.  By ensuring all activities are reflected through the workflows of the software, the majority of the form filling process can safely be undertaken, leaving the qualified staff to advise and communicate with the client. 
The case management systems can even be integrated with those of your outsourced suppliers so that their updates are fed into your case management system, enabling you to keep track of every aspect of the case without having to even pick up the phone or write an email.

Communication

Whether or not there is a glut of ABSs licenced, particularly once the SRA achieve their authority to regulate ABS in 2012, one thing is for sure - the consumer continues to expect increasingly more for less.  Finding ways to manage the client’s expectations and communicating with them is vital or your fixed fee will get swallowed up in client management telephone calls and complaints handling.  Case management can help with this too by providing email, on line case tracking and text options to keep the client up to date throughout the process but being able to speak to a qualified lawyer will inevitably give the client greater confidence.
By mapping the customer journey and carefully managing the tone and language of all correspondence, you can keep the client on the same page as you and deliver excellent customer service within the fee quoted.
So, if you thought ABS was all doom and gloom, think again.  With a few tweaks, the High Street Lawyers can continue doing what they do best.  The new regime is even likely to bring investment to your door as the likes of Tesco are not going to be employing shelf stackers to undertake the legal work.Tthey are much more likely to invest in existing legal practices to undertake the work generated through the brand name.  And there is a solid market demand for legal services, to ensure the estate is taken care of. In the Wills and probate property sector alone, the average UK property is now worth £165,000 and with over 14 million households currently owner occupied. A recent survey revealed that 52% of homeowners were without a Will, leaving over £1 trillion worth of property at the whim of the intestacy laws.  They need you!