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2000th member for legal referral network- 07/09/2011
The UK's leading legal referral and support network, Connect2Law is celebrating signing up its 2000th national member firm after a decade in business.
The service, which is run in the West Midlands by law firm FBC Manby Bowdler LLP, acting as the ‘hub’ for the region, now has nearly one fifth of all UK law firms as members, with over 120 of them in the West Midlands.
James Knight, based in FBC Manby Bowdler’s Wolverhampton office, business development partner and head of Connect2Law services for the firm, says that this milestone shows that many smaller law firms, generally of 10 partners or fewer are seeking mutually beneficial partnerships which will make them stronger and fitter in the face of imminent change to the legal profession.
Mr Knight continues: “Much has been written about the impending Tesco Law and how the legal profession will have to change in the face of increased competition. Connect2Law can be considered as a positive response from within the profession to this challenge. Connect2law is a mutually beneficial scheme built on trust and collaboration, and one which has been growing and evolving for the past 10 years.”
Founded a decade ago by Manchester based Pannone LLP, Connect2Law is a free service which helps law firms offer their clients a full service proposition by enabling member firms to refer work they cannot undertake themselves to specialist solicitors in larger firms.
Without the risk of losing their client, member firms introduce work to one of 21 hub firms based in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which, like FBC Manby Bowdler, manage and deliver the Connect2Law service in an agreed geographic location on a strictly non-poaching arrangement.
Mr Knight continues: "Connect2Law is not only the largest and most successful legal referral network run by lawyers for lawyers, it has been one of the best-kept secrets in the legal profession.
"It's not about taking firms' money and trying to do their marketing, which is the sum of many legal networks. It's designed so that we support other law firms to maintain their independence and provide them with additional tools to operate as independent and successful businesses in their own right, offering an enhanced quality of service to the client.
“By being part of Connect2Law, firms can provide excellent service to their clients as part of a wider service offering from a larger regional firm with established standards of client service delivery. By not dealing with unfamiliar work, firms can better manage their risk exposure and not compromise their professional insurance cover. Member firms have the comfort that an expert lawyer is dealing with the matter, as though that expert was in the department next door. It is our aim that Connect2Law offers a seamless level of service to its member firms, the benefit of which is passed onto the client.”
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Benefits to joining Connect2Law include free membership, written non-poaching and fee sharing agreements, a bespoke Lexcel accreditation scheme, free continuing professional development courses, a dedicated professional indemnity insurance brokerage, online property search facility as well as access to a wide range of consultancy services.
Members also have access to a buying group, CostController, which saves on average 20% on core overheads for the purchase of paper to photocopiers and mobile phones to utility bills.
Mr Knight continues: "More than 2,000 law firms across the UK and over 120 firms in our hub region are already reaping the benefits. This is not a closed shop. We are actively looking for more law firms in our region to join the network. The door is always open.
"We believe it is a model of how law firms can work together in the future in an increasingly competitive market which, from October, will be opened up to businesses not traditionally associated with the law."
Further information on Connect2Law in the West Midlands is available from FBC Manby Bowdler’s website on www.fbcmb.co.uk or by calling James Knight on tel. 01902 578064.