The news that Moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison website is going to start offering consumers access to law firms who will pay for these leads, is a strong indication of the way in which the internet will have an impact on the legal business.
It's taking a long time to trickle through, and for the time being it's only going to affect the conveyancing, probate and employment sectors (with personal injury to come) but the same changes will inevitably affect lawyers like us, offering services to business.
Let's face it, conveyancing is generally done on price. Whenever I get a call from a client who wants to buy or sell a house, I tend to suggest they either get some personal recommendation or to got for the most reasonable option, provided they are satisfied they will get a decent service.
As it stands, feedback on lawyers' services is extremely limited and most people never know who to contact when they need the advice of a lawyer on something personal. As Professor Richard Susskind told the Law Society Gazette: "This is a market worth £10bn and the means of selection of lawyers is usually hit and miss. If 66% of people in the UK use the internet, you only need a small number of these to choose legal services (in this way) to make this a serious issue".
There's a more detailed analysis of the impact of commoditisation on the legal industry here.
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