In January 2009, Ann was appointed Deputy Chairman of the newly-formed consortium The Legal Alliance (TLA). TLA is the first national alliance of law firms in the UK. It plans to market the legal services provided by its member firms to consumers and businesses across the UK. Its objective is to recruit the best law firm in each area to provide a range of high-quality services to local clients. TLA is currently finalising deals with several major national brands which it will use to market the services of its members to millions of potential customers. Ann explains the thinking behind TLA:
‘This is all about making it simpler for the public to access legal advice. It enables people to use local law firms who operate at fixed prices for many of their services. If traditional law firms don’t develop their services in the wake of the Legal Services Act, they’ll wither on the vine.’
TLA was set up to help protect high street law firms from the heavy competition that they are likely to face when the Legal Services Act comes into force in 2011. The Act allows a much wider range of companies to start providing legal services and a large number of household names such as banks and supermarkets will enter the legal marketplace. TLA aims to protect the interests of its member firms by actively marketing their services under a shared brand name that consumers and businesses will learn to recognise and trust.
TLA is principally aimed at medium-sized practices and is recruiting at least 100 members nationwide. Members will pay an annual fee, which will vary according to the firm’s size, location and breadth of work. TLA has already appointed 11 founding firms which are aiming to attract other regional firms into the alliance so that the group can offer local services in every area of England of Wales. The founding firms are:
- Stephensons (Manchester)
- Seddons (London)
- Franklins (Northampton)
- Kenneth Elliott + Rowe (Romford)
- Lees Lloyd Whitley (Liverpool)
- Challinors (Birmingham)
- MH Legal (Sunderland)
- Lamb Brooks (Basingstoke)
- John Collins & Partners (Swansea)
- Wake Smith & Tofields (Sheffield)
Ann and the other members of TLA’s management team are highly experienced businesspeople with an unrivalled knowledge of law and related fields. They hope to use their skills and marketing expertise to help the best law firms continue to thrive in the 21st century. To find out more, visit TLA’s website.
