Editor's blog | Power to the people

The Consumer Panel's background report on consumer empowerment paints a contrasted picture of the role of purchasers of legal services as stakeholders with potential to influence the shape of the market.

Prepared at the request of the Legal Services Board, 'Empowering consumers: possibilities and limitations', will undoubtedly be seen as yet more regulatory interference on the part of Victoria House pushing what some see as an anti-lawyer agenda. But it raises a number of pertinent issues for law firms, both individually and for the sector as a whole.

The report starts from the liberal premise that consumers actively furthering their interests help stimulate competition between suppliers, thus making a positive contribution to economic growth.

For most clients instructing a lawyer, however, the state of the economy or competitiveness are not the main preoccupation. What matters to them is whether their solicitor is competent and how much he is going to charge. Some may even want to know what redress they have if they are not satisfied with the service received.

With any other supply of goods or service, consumers increasingly shop around for the best deal. Consumers of legal services don't; they are confused by the lack of price transparency and are unwilling to complain when things go wrong, according to the panel.

Much is made these days about the power of the internet to federate modern citizens and help them wield their collective power. The panel even refers to, for instance, research by US academic Clay Shirky predicting that online consumer groups, empowered by social media, could one day replace traditional group actions.

To date the extent to which consumers of legal services leverage the power of the internet has been limited.

While 17 per cent found a lawyer after an online search '“ the second most popular search method '“ this has to be put in context: only 22 per cent shop around in the first place. This could have to do with the fact that only 56 per cent of clients pay privately for legal advice, a figure which could go up from April following the reduced availability of legal aid. There is also no established lawyer comparison website that could help generate online momentum.

And despite the noise made by legal online newcomers, the internet is still to win over consumers as a reliable source of legal advice, with only 19 per cent of people turning to the web for this purpose.

For law firms, these findings are an opportunity to reflect on their own approach to client communication. Too many still revel in legal jargon and their websites are silent about prices. Greater accessibility and transparency should be the order of the day. So if you are still looking for a set of new year resolutions, make this one top of your list.