Vulture PI firms will peck away at the weak

As the fall-out from LASPO continues to
hit personal injury (PI) firms, they face an increasing threat from the growth of 'cannibal' law firms. With many PI firms failing to get to grips with the basics of what they
do and putting profits before client care, we are seeing an increasing number of law firms advertising for their dissatisfied clients to take action against their original solicitors.

While many firms are adopting a 'back to basics with a business edge' approach by finding ways to operate profitably without putting clients at risk, still too many are still focused on making a quick buck, with little thought
to their clients. This leaves firms falling prey to being sued for under-settlements.

Here are five areas that PI firms should address urgently if they are to avoid being part of the new market for professional negligence:

1. Wise-up on noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL)

NIHL is not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It is far from easy money and is an extremely risky area to invest in without real expertise and experience. Understanding the work in progress (WIP) and capital lock-up cycle, plus the expertise required to litigate and make this work profitable, is essential to mitigate professional negligence risk and cash-flow issues.

2. Address the hourly rate

Some firms are looking to increase hourly rates to make up for shortfalls in fixed recoverable costs, without being able to justify it, which is leading to trouble. The insurance sector simply won't pay. Add this to claimants having to pay success fees out of their damages and poorly explained conditional fee agreements (CFAs), and it
will lead to client complaints.
It will mean business and regulatory pain, with challenges on solicitor's own client bills under the Solicitors Act 1974
and complaints to the SRA and the Legal Ombudsman.

3. Take instructions and prepare witness statements

It beggars belief that this needs to be said, yet many lawyers
say they don't have the time to engage with their client to take instructions. There really is no substitute.

In most cases, an attendance note from a 20-minute telephone call can be very easily transposed into a witness statement and sent out for signature. Getting
a signed document from your client means more certainty and less wiggle room in litigation, which is particularly important
in relation to clause 49 of the Criminal Justice and Court Bill and its focus on claims where there is 'fundamental dishonesty'. Exploring the strengths and weaknesses of a case early,
with corroborative evidence
and signed statements, means you are less likely to fail at trial.

4. Choose your own experts

Many leave it to external agencies to choose and instruct an expert, which often goes wrong. Without instructions
and evidence from your client, failure to choose the appropriate expert and instruct them in a CPR-compliant manner usually leads to wasted time and money as well as poor client care.

5. Stop the howlers

While there will always be a strong element of process in low-value PI cases, it must be underpinned by strong legal expertise at key points to
ensure a proper evaluation of
a case and avoid professional negligence. Failure to do this could lead to personal injury firms creating the sector's
next big storm - a market of
its own making. SJ

Lesley Graves is the managing director of personal injury consulting law firm Citadel Law