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Bridging the gap

15 January 2016 / Mark Burns
Issue: 7682 / Categories: Features , Profession
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By offering increased transparency in costs & services, comparison sites can benefit firms & potential clients, as Mark Burns explains

There can’t have been many of us that were surprised by the findings of a recent survey by Citizens Advice which claimed that almost 70% of respondents said they couldn’t afford legal services (see Responsive justice: How citizens experience the justice system, November 2015). The survey responses also highlighted the need for more transparency in a profession which has long been surrounded in mystery. The real question relating to the cost of legal advice has to be around whether clients can see value in the service that they receive and if that service meets their needs. What service does a client actually need, what do they want it to include and how much does that service cost?

Price is a complex area—particularly when it comes to procuring legal services where buying decisions should not be made by creating a race to the bottom—but instead, the profession has to take steps to bring client and lawyer

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Ceri Morgan, knowledge counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, analyses the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, which reshapes the law of fiduciary relationships and common law bribery
The boundaries of media access in family law are scrutinised by Nicholas Dobson in NLJ this week
Reflecting on personal experience, Professor Graham Zellick KC, Senior Master of the Bench and former Reader of the Middle Temple, questions the unchecked power of parliamentary privilege
Geoff Dover, managing director at Heirloom Fair Legal, sets out a blueprint for ethical litigation funding in the wake of high-profile law firm collapses
James Grice, head of innovation and AI at Lawfront, explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the legal sector
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