THE YouGov Centaur survey has recently revealed that partners have cast doubt on the fundamental business model of law firms. With 44 per cent of the UK’s law firms having already made redundancies – twice the amount previously reported, the future looks bleak. I believe that the rise in redundancies comes as part of a four-wave impact of referral fees, graduated fees, the current credit crunch on the property market and the tightening of available credit.

The survey found that sixty-nine per cent of managing partners and ­senior partners believe that the current economic ­turmoil will force law firms to radically change their business models to weather the storm. However, changing the corporate structure of the law firms is no easy feat and it’s almost impossible to expect fee earners in smaller firms to be ‘all things to all people’.

It’s imperative that small to medium law firm stay alive through this dry spell, so they continue to offer access to justice to consumers in their communities. Many consumers value a personalised local service with a solicitor who holds a breadth of local knowledge - which can be crucial for some cases. Without these local firms, consumers will lose their right to ‘access to justice’. Small and medium sized law firms need to act now if they are to diversify and survive in the current market condition. They need to look at available solutions which will allow them to capture more work and diversify into new areas of law, allowing them to generate income to give them a competitive edge, whilst still retaining independence.

Stephen Allen, director at Clarity Legal, clarity-legal.com