The price transparency rules have gone a long way in helping consumers make an informed decision about the legal services they use. Since December 2018, legal firms have been obligated to publicly present their costs and which pricing structures they use for certain services. After some initial hesitancy and concern over the inflexibility of explaining pricing upfront, most legal firms are now complying with the rules, according to SRA research. But despite this welcome advance, there’s a case to be made that the transparency rules don’t go far enough. A valid complaint that some legal practitioners had about the rules when they were first introduced was that legal services are too complicated to be priced up in a ‘one size fits all’ approach. This means that customers can expect to find law firms offering an hourly rate, an initial advice fee, or a fixed rate, to name just a few.
In many cases, the cost of a service will be made up of two different pricing structures, such as an initial advice fee and an hourly rate. Displaying this pricing information is a good start– but it’s not much use on its own. Customers can only know if they’re getting a good deal if they’re also provided with information about which services they’re getting in return for their money. For example, what good is advertising an hourly rate when a customer doesn’t have a rough idea of how many hours it will take to write a will or get divorced?
It would be nice to believe that the quality of the work is the client’s only concern. Yes, they want a professional and most are willing to pay for a job well done. But in a cost of living crisis, it’s naïve to believe that pricing isn’t going to impact choice. Many people who need a legal service are on a budget. If they don’t know what’s included in that pricing, they can be in for a nasty shock. This lack of clarity can hurt both customers and legal firms.
On the other hand, LSB research shows that customers are more likely to be satisfied with their service when prices are explained to them. So, managing expectations is in everyone’s best interest – clients avoid surprise bills, and practitioners avoid bad reviews or losing out on business. At The Law Superstore, we’ve attempted to bridge the gap between the intention of the transparency rules and the reality. Our aim is to help users to empower the client with meaningful choice. Through our intelligent user journey, we find out the specific needs of each customer and match them to legal service providers that are right for their case. We then provide up to four quotes from legal firms. Each quote explains which pricing structures are used and its scope of work.
This means customers can meaningfully compare based on price (as well as features, location, and lots more) while having a clear sense of what they’re comparing. It’s not just the client that benefits from this. A better understanding of the process and the pricing means higher intent leads – people who are willing to instruct a legal expert there and then. When clients feel secure in what they’re paying and what they’re getting, the entire relationship starts off on the right foot. Our system also allows for flexibility from our legal partners – pricing structures don’t stay the same, they adapt to the workload, the availability of the lawyers, the complexity of the work. Transparent but flexible pricing allows our legal partners to test the waters of new services, or price themselves more competitively if they need to.
No one wants to think that the choice of good legal representation is solely down to pricing. We want everyone to have access to the legal support they need. But the more we empower the consumer with an understanding of our industry, the more we empower the legal firm to impress with their finest work. Transparency only has power when it’s matched with context, and The Law Superstore is working hard to make sure every consumer has that.
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