New Legal Services Niche - Essay Example

New legal services Niche Qn The team has decided to form an urgent legal services dispatch center, where potential customers receive the services they need in the shortest time possible, and in the area of services demanded. The operations of the dispatch center will be operated in an innovative manner, which is similar to that offered by fast food places, from where a customer can receive their order for a Pizza in 15 minutes – including during the night. The innovative services model will resemble the time-less outlook of services, for instance the services of plumbers, who are available to serve potential customers during the middle of the night (Suskind 172). The process of accessing the services will entail signing up for the services of the center, and then they are required to pay a monthly fee of USD 4.95. The customer can also pay a USD 100 fee, for the first call for service. Ordinarily, the first hour of services will cost a customer not more than USD 250. The center will target its services at young customers, and will guarantee them the legal services help they need, before they say or do anything that may place then in compromising situations. Through the outlook, the center is reorganizing its traditional business, so that it can stand out from the crowd of legal service providers, towards pacing-up to the innovativeness adopted by different industries (Suskind 172). The group chose this legal practice area, following the increment of the sentiments of customers that the flexibility of legal services is low. Many legal services consumers have also expressed the sentiments that the costs of legal services is very high, and bulky, therefore many customers may not be able or willing to purchase the customized service packages offered by lawyers (Suskind 57). Through unbundling the legal services, splitting the different areas of service into component parts will help the center, in offering the different services in the most efficient manner. Due to this outlook, the lawyers at the center will not offer the services based on the undivided time of a single lawyer serving the wide range of the legal needs of their client (Suskind 59). The lawyers at the center will offer customized services to different clients, and some aspects served simultaneously for different customers, so that the center and the customer can reap from the economies of scale. The choice of this service line was also based on the fact that the unbundled services will be marketed in a relatively decentralized manner, and sold in a way which is similar to that of other service sectors like document processing and tax preparation (Suskind 157). Qn.2. The urgent legal services center will be characterized by the unbundling of the service packages offered by a lawyer. The unbundling of the services into different component parts will help the different team members to offer the different services in the most efficient way possible. The center will offer its services to current and potential customers around the clock, which will increase the flexibility of service consumption (Van Zandt 1130). Though the adoption of a more flexible service delivery pattern, the center will exploit the potential clientele that are restrained from seeking legal services due to time and the costs of services. The marketing of the services of the center will be done through the lawyer-client relations developed after the formation of the center and those from the contacts of different lawyers. Through adopting this marketing outlook, the center will benefit from the diversity of social interactions, which will reach potential customers that the center or the different lawyers could not reach. The center will offer unbundled services to different customers, depending on the characteristics of the services required by the given client. This outlook was chosen, because unbundling will be easier for comparatively routine services, where many personal issues or complex links are not involved (Van Zandt 1130). An example of cases where unbundling cannot apply is the case of a delicate divorce case, which is likely to call for a conventional, bundled service package. The delivery of services will benefit from outsourcing, where highly customized areas of the work, including document review will be handled by companies that specialize in the handling of these areas at relatively lower costs (Timmons). Potential customers of the services will not be charged for contacting the center, because the team intends to position the services in a way that allows all clients the convenience they need. This characteristic was chosen, because the firm understands that the need for legal services can come at any time, including during the night – when the potential client may not be able to afford the fee of calling or connecting to the firm (Van Zandt 1128). After the consumer contacts the center, the operator at the center will confirm their personal and case information, so that they can require the dispatch of the lawyer that can serve the needs of the given customer in the best way possible (Van Zandt 1129). This service outlook will enable the customer to receive the services of the center in the shortest time possible. Qn.3. The financing of the venture will be sourced from a credit package designed for trial attorneys. The credit package is expected to help the team run the center for the first 12 months, smoothing cash flow cycle – which fosters fee practice and contingency. The option will help the center to maximize the results from different cases, especially in the cases that the center is going against well-financed opposition (Van Zandt 1132). The strategy will help us protect the assets of the partners, and at the same time reduce the problems related to funding. The funding model will enable the trial lawyers at the center, to pay for practice development, to expand service delivery and so as to finance partner compensation. The credit collected from the legal capital firm will be repaid using the fees collected from the clients of the center. The different sources of revenue include the fees collected from monthly subscribers (retainer fees), the client fees collected from first call services, and the fee charged for hourly services (capped fees) – especially in the cases where the client changes the lawyer handling their case. Other sources of revenue include the fixed fees, which are calculated on the basis of past billing history; contingent fees, which are collected after pre-determined results are realized, and success fees, which are collected after the case goes through successfully (Van Zandt 1132). Qn. 4. The market for legal services will respond to the venture positively, because different factors, including information technology, consolidation, globalization and litigation financing have changed the outlook of the provision of legal services globally. For example, off-shoring of information and globalization has started influencing the range and the positioning of legal services. The market will embrace the legal services center, because the innovative pricing strategies will enable low and high-income earners to access legal services. Further, the services of the company will offer different consumer groups the flexibility they need, particularly with regard to service access around the clock. The market will embrace the legal services center, because it will offer legal services to the population that requires flexible packaging of the services they need. The center will be embraced by the market, because it will operate an information center, from where citizens can seek information regarding different events or aspects of everyday life, which are likely to yield legal consequences. The center will offer a special advisory service that will advise members of public on the many areas that are defined by the law, including the purchase of a house, the events resulting from a car accident, or during the contracting and the hiring process. The information advisory services will be offered over the phone, as well as over the website of the legal services center. The flexibility of the services of the center will increase the uptake of the services, because a client will receive the advisory they require from a lawyer sent from the center within a period of less than one hour. The flexible service delivery models will entail the action of the customer in contacting the center, which will be followed by the confirmation of the client’s information by the operator. The third stage will entail the dispatch of the lawyer, from the center’s pool. The fourth stage will entail the contact between the client and the lawyer, which should be initiated within an approximated period of 15 minutes. After the customer and the lawyer engage in discussions about the case, the lawyer will communicate to the center and the client, the steps to be taken in addressing or resolving the case. Qn. 5. The fast-changing outlook of the legal environment requires the legal services center to offer legal services in a more efficient manner. The legal services center will offer the services of advising clients – persons and institutions – regarding their legal responsibilities and rights (Trotter 76). The second service area will be the representation of the firm’s clients in criminal or civil suits; business transactions and other matters, where legal assistance and advice are needed. The firm will assume the form of a general partnership, where the three partners will share the profits, liabilities and the ownership of the firm (Trotter 80). The partners will be the joint owners and the business directors for the firms operations. The firm will employ associates, who will be the employees of the center, but with the potential to become partners. Other employees will offer clerical, paralegal and other support services to the firm. The partnership of one member can be terminated, in the case they commit a malpractice or a crime; in the case they are not contributing to the firm’s profitability or in the case they suffer from disturbing mental illness. The firm is not open for a merger, acquisition, reorganization or divisions before the first two years of operations are over (Trotter 83). Qn.6. The billing arrangements will form a central basis for the resolution of issues that may arise during the dealings between the firm’s lawyers and their clients – depending on the nature of the services offered. These issues include risk sharing, incentivizing cost reduction and stimulating competition. For the case of the firm, the billable hour outlook will not be dominant, mainly because it intends to serve non-corporate clients. In such a case, the amounts charged will depend on whether there are monetary amounts at stake and whether the case in question is amenable to losing or winning (Van Zandt 1127). The firm’s fee structure will be based on different outlooks, depending on the type of case and the customer in question. The different fee structures are designed to meet the financial abilities and needs of different customers. Some customers will be required to give a fixed charge, which is basically an estimate based on the historical fees collected for a similar case. Capped fees model is another fee structure, where the rate charged is based on an hourly billing, but the amount is limited by an agreed-upon maximum amount (Van Zandt 1127). The third is the retainer billing model, where the customer will be required to pay a given amount for a given period. Contingent fee model will be used by clients that have reached an agreement with the lawyer, on the results anticipated from the case (Van Zandt 1128). A customer can use the success fee model, where they pay a given percentage of the lawyer’s fee, in the case the case is won, and the amount is cut, in the case the case is lost. A blended rates outlook is available to non-corporate clients, where the customers pay the average of the hourly rate of the different lawyers working on their case (Van Zandt 1130). The varied fee structures will enable the different customers – corporate and non-corporate – to choose a payment model that suits their financial needs. Qn.7. The revenues collected from the fees of clients will be the primary source of funds, from which the employees will be remunerated. The compensation of the staffs of the law firm (Rates based on small law firm standard) Staffs Salary (Yearly) Partner lawyers 100,000 Employed Lawyers 80,250 Associates 65,500 Administrators 60, 750 Law Clerks 60, 250 Junior Law Clerk 40,750 Legal Assistant 52,000 Source: (Ward 1) Qn. 8. The firm will use online platforms to transport document, video and voice information over long distances. For example, the firm intends to use video conferencing to reach the wide client population that cannot be reached physically, particularly cross-border clients (Ward 1). The firm will purchase computers that can help the lawyers in doing computer-aided research on cases and legal maters, which is faster and more effective than library research. The firm will use lawyer rating systems like AVVO and Lawdragon to rate the competitiveness of lawyers (Ward 2). The firm will operate a website, where clients can collect information on legal advisory and contact information. The staffs of the firm will use online platforms like e-mail, online calling and chat services in communicating with their clients and other information sources (Ward 1). Qn. 9. The law firm has adopted a highly expansive thinking for the future. In 2013, it plans to nurture competency areas as well as position itself effectively in the local and the global market. The increment of strategic resources and positioning will be guided by the hiring of highly competent lawyers, opening new firms, and introducing innovative service delivery channels. Lateral hiring is a major strategy for the first two years in operation. After the first two years, the firm anticipates to grow through hiring groups of lawyers and the acquisition of smaller firms (Wayne and Headrick 97). Throughout the period, the firm will be guided by the strategic plan on the improvement of the quality of services – replacing low with high quality professionals. Within five years in operation, the company expects to have entered into 5 mergers, and to have acquired 5 or 6 smaller law firms, which will expand its coverage and the areas of specialty. For the five years after 2018, the company will pursue expansion through the acquisition of groups, expand globally, and acquire law firms across the globe and through the acquisition of laterals globally. Within the same duration, the firm intends to increase its paralegal count by 150 percent, its administrative professionals by 70 percent and its support staff by 50 percent (Wayne and Headrick 97). Qn. 10. The three lawyers going into the partnership have enough clients to contribute 100 hours on service; therefore the three of us are equity law firm partners, who are entitled to the profits, losses and the capital of the firm (Wayne and Headrick 111). The three of us have practiced law for five years, therefore partnering will bring in customer networks, as well as draw in extra talent from each other, which will qualify the three of us to become equal partners. The law-practice profile of the three of us will influence the profile of the firm, which will increase its potential to make profits in the shortest time possible. The business acumen and the skill sets of the three of us will inform the management of the firm, and improve the positioning of the firm in the short and the long-term (Wayne and Headrick 111). Qn. 10. The choice of the other staffs, during the starting of the venture was guided by the competency areas of the different candidates – so that we could develop a team that offers the best support services, besides the legal practice services offered by the company. For instance, all the clerks, administrators and assistants are CSP-1 & II certified, therefore are able to offer excellent support customer service care and services. The support staffs were selected to enhance the communication and the network development of the organization, so that they can complement the efforts of the practicing lawyers (Roper 172). The staffs offer customer support through out the day and night, through the month, over the phone and email. The staffs recruited into the firm are responsible for the designing, evaluation and the implementation of firm programs and schedules – depending on the areas to be covered. The associates of the firm are potential recruits into the firm, because they will be selected to join the lawyer’s panel after their performance has been evaluated. The support staffs will coordinate media and information management within the firm, as well as negotiate in the relations with the outside world. The roles of the support staffs is wide, therefore are important members of the firm. Works Cited Roper, Brent. Instructor’s Manual to Accompany Practical Law Office Management, 2nd Edition. New York: West Thompson Learning, 2002. Suskind, Richard. The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Legal Profession. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Timmons, Heather. “Outsourcing to India Draws Western Lawyers.” The New York Times, (August 4, 2010). Web http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/business/global/05legal.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Trotter, Michael. Profit and the Practice of Law: What's Happened to the Legal Profession. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1997. Van Zandt, David. “Foundational Competencies: Innovation in Legal Education.” Rutgers Law Review 61.4 (2009): 1127–1130. Ward, Stephanie. “Grade Anxiety: Firms Fret About Clients Rating Their Work.” ABA J (2010): 1. Wayne, Anderson, and Headrick, Marilyn. The Legal Profession: Is it for you? Cincinnati: Thomson Executive Press, 1996. Read More