Co-op banking staff 'trained to identify legal need'

Christina Blacklaws, director at Co-operative Legal Services, has said that the Co-op’s banking staff have been “trained to identify legal need” in their customers.

The Co-op is in the process of buying over 600 bank branches from Lloyds, which would give it more than 1,000 high street branches by 2015.

Co-operative Legal Services launched its family law service, based in Paddington, in September last year. Blacklaws said a national face-to-face legal service would be launched later this year.

Speaking to the Westminister Legal Policy Forum yesterday, she said the arrival of ABSs would not prevent independent specialists from operating in the high street.

“The presence of new brands in the market creates a huge opportunity for businesses to differentiate themselves.”

Blacklaws said it was not the Co-op’s aim to be the cheapest in the market, but to offer quality.

“We can’t afford any brand damage. Quality is absolutely vital and the one thing we don’t compromise on. It’s more important to us than profit.”

Rob Hailstone, founder of the Bold Legal Group of high street firms, said the eleventh practice joined last week because of fears over competition from the Co-op.

“Law firms should protect and defend their client bases – clients the Co-op is already selling groceries to,” he said.

“There is little point in spending on marketing and PR when your existing clients are leaving in droves.”

Hailstone said the demise of Lawyers2you, the personal injury franchise operated by former law firm Blakemores, had “cast a temporary shadow over the creation of new legal brands”.

He said QualitySolicitors was the only newly established national legal brand and it was “difficult to find someone who knows them”. He said the legal access points at WH Smith stores had not worked but QS had access to hundreds of millions of pounds of private equity funding and good leadership.

Hailstone added that the strengths of ABSs included access to good people, external funding and a quicker decision-making process.

“There may not be hundreds in existence yet, but there will be.”