Pannone prepares for post-LSA world with white-label arm
Pannone is set to launch a white-label division to capitalise on the new opportunities that will arise when the Legal Services Act (LSA) comes into full force.
Andrew Morton
Affinity Solutions will launch on 1 May and will partner with companies from a number of industries including retailers, financial services, utilities and insurers to offer their customers own-label legal services.
Pannone’s travel litigation head Andrew Morton heads the 85-strong Affinity team, which is made up mostly of paralegals and will provide a range of legal services including employment advice, consumer disputes, fast-track injury claims, conveyancing and remortgaging.
“It’s a problem a lot of law firms face, being approached by organisations that want to provide legal services to an existing customer base,” said Morton. “So we’ve set this team up so all the work, which covers many different departments, is done under one roof.
“It’s the high-volume low-value work that people want done, and we’ll be teaming up with companies in the retail and banking sectors, and any other organisations with a large customer base.”
The LSA comes into full force in October 2011 and will allow non-law firms to provide legal services to customers. High street banks, insurers and retailers have signalled an intention to launch into the market. Affinity has already signed a deal with a major multiple retailer and is in talks with others.
“A number of these new entrants to the marketplace know how to provide excellent service to their existing customers while arguably many in the legal sector do not,” said Morton. “So an organisation that places as much emphasis on good service as well as providing excellent legal advice has to be of benefit to the consumer.”
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Readers' comments (3)
Anonymous | 21-Apr-2011 4:20 pm
For all the noise about "Tesco Law" over the last few years, I always thought that many retailers, etc would go the "White Label" route, just as they adopt that route with many of their FS products. With Irwin Mitchell and Pannone making big plays in the last couple of days, Quality Solicitors' WH Smith link up looks a little second rate (have you been to a WH Smith lately???). That said, it is still a considerably better approach to the head in the sand one being adopted by so many High Street firms.
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Anonymous | 21-Apr-2011 10:40 pm
Really?! Irwin Mitchell and Pannone "big plays"?! Irwin Mitchell announces they'd quite like some funding please and Pannone moves some staff around. These consumer firms have been vying for "white labelled" work for years but where are the actual deals of interest? Who is the "major multiple retailer"?! For me, Quality Solicitors is the only one who has actually done something. And, as for the idea that it will be all white labelled? Nonsense. They can do that already. The real money is in doing it themselves - as the Co-op are showing already. Where Quality Solicitors have one over Pannone etc is they can still offer a face-to-face element of service which, I believe, (as does the Co-op from recent articles) is necessary for market dominance.
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Ashley Balls | 4-May-2011 1:19 am
It would be interesting to learn whether this is a marketing 'ploy' or setting up a service in response to customer demand. Whatever the answer one thing is clear; law firms that live on transactional services and who do not embrace comoditisation will struggle to compete. In the 21st century professional services delivery will be very different. How many firms routinely ask customers what communications channel they would prefer to use? Too few is probably the answer. Generations 'X' & 'Y' have already moved on from email to social networdking sites. Law firms missing this change will face a bleak future.
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