QualitySolicitors is in talks with several top 100 firms that are considering signing up to the law firm franchise, according to chief executive Craig Holt.
Next month the company will launch 50 new branches across the UK including offices in Cardiff, Sheffield, Liverpool, Ashford and London. Holt said the group plans to launch offices in all major cities and towns across Britain within the next two years.
Among the firms that have signed up to the latest launch of the QualitySolicitors franchise is Jackson & Canter, the Liverpool firm run by former Law Society president Andrew Holroyd. When the launch goes live it will be known as QualitySolicitors Jackson & Canter.
Holt said the franchise has bigger targets in its sights. “There’s more than one top 100 firm with whom we’re in discussions presently about taking on the QualitySolicitors branding alongside their own, but I can’t say more than that, I’m afraid.”
Holt claimed he is in discussions with four top 100 firms, which have turnovers of between £20-50m, but was unable to reveal their identity until they are officially signed up. One possibility being explored is firms spinning-off their private client operations and bringing them under the QualitySolicitors banner.
While QualitySolicitors mainly focuses on private client work, Holt said it is increasingly looking to provide commercial work for small to medium-sized businesses. When firms sign up to QualitySolicitors they pay an annual membership fee, a large chunk of which goes toward funding marketing and advertising, such as the recent prime-time national television campaign.
Readers' comments (13)
Anonymous | 11-Oct-2010 3:58 pm
To the above post by Richard Atkinson
Ok but in the medium term when these so called quality solicitors start failing because being part of this brand means more money being drained from firms that are borderline bankrupt then what is more likely is that "quality solicitors" will be known as the new "Countrywide".
I.e. a tacky brand to avoid.
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Anonymous | 11-Oct-2010 11:06 pm
I think the way Newcastle's first QS law firm has put it to its partners is "this is what Eversheds did in the 1990s". I'm not sure the other two offices are buying into it with much enthusiasm!
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Anonymous | 12-Oct-2010 10:17 am
I am an experienced solicitor and have come up against QS. The person on the other side was only working 2 days per week which slowed down the transaction massively. They were also unable / unwilling to draft the documentation required which was very disappointing for my client whose fees were increased as a result. I think the quality brand name is misleading and a misrepresentation. It is frustrating to think that joe public sees the adverts and finds them appealing. On the advert it looks like the firms are all independently rated by QS but they are not - in fact they are just paying QS to use their brand name ! Dangerous and misleading.
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