Legal Services
Much of the change in law firms’ operating models over the next few years will be driven by clients, who will increasingly look for certainty in billing and greater efficiency in service. Firms need to adopt electronic communication as clients value ease of contact, reduced costs and speed of response over face to face contact and local offices.
'The service that Vialtus provides to us is highly effective in helping meet our business needs and ensures we provide an excellent service to our customers. With the rise of online bookings, having a reliable and secure website is essential and this is exactly what we get from Vialtus.'
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Dominic Smith, head of IT at the Barbican Centre
Reform of legal services is being taken forward in the Legal Services Bill, with a proposed introduction date of 2010. It aims to create a Legal Services Board to oversee the sector and a new Office for Legal Complaints, and to introduce alternative business structures allowing external ownership of law firms. Increasingly, large operations are being established to deliver services such as legal advice in personal injury cases, and conveyancing. These much larger operations will centrally store, managed and distribute large volumes of data so secure hosting, storage and access networks will become a prerequisite to do doing business.
And we are already at a stage where people can work effectively remotely, and leading firms are recognising that mobility is often a key requirement for employees engaged in client or site meetings away from the office. Keeping laptops and remote network access secure is a challenge, but the so-called “war for talent” will force the issue. For part of the working week, lawyers will want to be able to work from home, or from court, and the best talent will join firms where this is a realistic option.
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