Just one in three clients seeks out a solicitor relevant to their advice needs
- 71% opt for the first solicitor they find, ignoring specialist expertise
- One in four recent clients admit they could have made a better match
- UK’s most popular professional advice website launches ‘find a solicitor’ search next month, to tackle ‘lack of awareness and accessibility’ of specialist advice
Figures* released today from Unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website, reveal that of the 12 million people who have sought legal advice over the last two years, just one in three (33%) looked for a solicitor with expertise relevant to their legal advice needs.
In addition a staggering 71% of people who sought legal advice for a range of reasons including property sale, personal injury, employment issues and divorce, plumped for the first solicitor they contacted, rather than looking for a practitioner or firm specialising in the type of issue they needed advice on.
Perhaps unsurprisingly then one in four (26%) recent legal advice clients said they were not fully satisfied with the service received, with many conceding they should have searched for a specialist in the first place.
Richard Winder, spokesperson for Unbiased.co.uk comments: “Whilst personal recommendation remains the dominant source of new clients across all types of professional advice, it seems those looking for legal advice are particularly unlikely to ‘shop around’ for a relevant specialist. This is surprising when people’s reasons for seeking legal advice vary so widely, from divorce to home-buying to personal injury, since it is clear that solicitors need detailed knowledge and esoteric skills and qualifications to advise on any one of these areas. So we can only conclude that people are not seeking the added value of specialist advice because they simply don’t know how and where to do so.”
To tackle the lack of public awareness of, and access to, specialist legal advice, Unbiased.co.uk will next month launch its ‘find a solicitor’ search, matching consumers with the local solicitors who can best meet their specific, individual needs.
Like Unbiased.co.uk’s ‘find an IFA’ search - used by over half a million consumer each year - the new service will enable consumers to search not only by postcode and preferred payment options, but importantly by areas of specialism and by advanced qualifications, all on a free and confidential basis. Already over 1,300 solicitors have registered with Unbiased.co.uk, listing their areas of specialism and confirming the advanced qualifications they hold.
Search users will also be able to select solicitors who speak a particular foreign language or who are accredited for their strong customer service standards. Enquirers’ details remain confidential, with no details captured or passed on to Unbiased.co.uk or member legal firms.
Richard Winder added: “Put simply, better matched clients mean more profitable relationships for law firms. But it would be a mistake to stop at just building a service to improve this match; we’ve got to make consumers aware it exists at the very point when they need a solicitor. As well as dominating Google and other search engine results pages for relevant search terms, we have already placed over 60 white label versions of our ‘find an IFA’ search on high profile consumer websites ranging from portals MSN, Yahoo! and Orange, to news sites like FT.com, Times Online and Telegraph.co.uk and we are referred to by hundreds of public sector, media and commercial third parties, and we will be replicating this successful approach to drive enquiries through our ‘find a solicitor’ service.”
Solicitors can register their details to be included on the forthcoming search for free, by visiting www.unbiased.co.uk/find-a-solicitor. To register, law firms fill in a simple form with their contact details, areas of specialism and additional qualifications held by individual solicitors, payment options offered and languages spoken. In order to ensure the accuracy of the listed details, the solicitors on Unbiased.co.uk’s ‘find a solicitor’ search will be required to verify the details of their listings annually.
ENDS
* Opinium Research carried out an online poll of 2,146 British adults from Friday 9th January to Tuesday 13th January 2009. All data is representative of all UK adults.
For further information on Unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website please contact:
| David Elms / Richard Winder | Anna Schirmer/Jennifer Comerford/ Anna Moulds |
| Unbiased.co.uk | Lansons Communications |
| 020 7833 3131 | 020 7294 3682 |
Notes to Editors
Unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website
Unbiased.co.uk is the free and confidential UK-wide search service matching consumers with the most appropriate local professional advisers for their needs. In 2008, Unbiased.co.uk fulfilled over half a million searches for local, professional advice.
The portal currently houses three professional advice searches: ‘Find an independent financial adviser’, ‘Find a mortgage adviser’, and (soon to launch) ‘Find a solicitor’. These searches enable consumers to find relevant professional advisers by postcode, area of specialism, qualification and payment method.
IFA Promotion, the organisation behind Unbiased.co.uk, is now in its 20th year, and was originally set up to promote the benefits of independent financial advice to the consumer.
Unbiased.co.uk’s product provider sponsors
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AEGON Scottish Equitable Plc |
Lincoln |
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Alliance Trust |
Lockton |
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AXA Life |
Lutine Assurance Services |
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Bright Grey |
MetLife |
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BPP |
National Savings & Investments |
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Canada Life Ltd |
New Star Investment Funds |
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Cardif Pinnacle |
Norwich Union Life |
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The Children’s Mutual |
Prudential |
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Clerical Medical Investment |
Royal London 360° |
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Defaqto |
Scottish Life |
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Friends Provident |
Scottish Widows Plc |
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The Hartford |
Standard Life Assurance Company |
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Invesco Perpetual |
Unum |
|
Legal & General |
Zurich Intermediary Group |
Registered Office: Unbiased.co.uk is the consumer brand of IFA Promotion Ltd, 90 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5UB. Registered in Scotland: No. 114606