OK - we'll admit it.
As relative newcomers to the legal business, we understand that traditional law firms are upset by the changes that companies like ours are bringing to the house buying and selling process.
When we started the company five years ago, we were told of a "dive to the bottom" and the good old days when solicitors were respected were well and truly behind us. People would say "it's such a shame, law used to be considered a profession, now it is just a business". Indeed, we are constantly on the receiving end of numerous patronising comments and criticism from competitors, purely because our business wasn't established before those new computer-things were invented.
However, even we were surprised when a client came to us this week, who had been upset by an email from her former solicitor when she asked him to send her documents to us. His response to her very polite and professional email was extraordinary. "I try and look after all of my clients ... in the expectation they will remain loyal ... the estate agents urged you to use their pet solicitors but it is difficult not to hide my disappointment that you have chosen not to use me."
REALLY?
Sadly, we see this hard-done-by sentiment all too often.
Whether it is complaining about estate agent fees, trying to score points by blaming someone else, or just merely upset that they have lost business to a competitor, such schoolyard histrionics seem part and parcel of the daily life of some property lawyers.
To be clear. The legal market is going through some major changes and will continue to do so.
However, contrary to what many lawyers believe, these changes are not about fees, but about service, which is borne out in numerous surveys. The challenge is that service goes beyond being knowledgeable and doing the work properly. It's also about acting in a professional manner at all times with everyone involved in the transaction.
We think that its probably time for many law firms to sit up and take notice and would like to offer some general pointers to those who are not clear what professional service really entails;
- Answer your telephone
- Return telephone calls
- Offer solutions not problems
- Don't expect respect as you've been doing this for years or have the word "Partner" in your email signature
- Charge appropriate fees so that you can employ enough people
In our opinion, it would make all our lives a lot easier if everyone involved in the legal side of the house selling and buying process started to show a little more maturity and rather less nit-picking grandstanding.
In this way, maybe our jobs would be easier and all our clients would receive a better service.
And perhaps they might even refer their friends.
