Establishing a Legal Agency: A Business Report (BUSN101, Fall 2024)

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report details a business plan for a legal agency.

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS
A LEGAL AGENCY BUSINESS PROVIDING LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO OTHER BUSINESSES

Table of Contents
PART 1............................................................................................................................................4
1.1 BUSINESS TYPE.....................................................................................................................4
1.2 RESEARCH............................................................................................................................ 5
PART 2............................................................................................................................................7
2.1 MCCARTHY’S 4P’S OF MARKETING......................................................................................7
2.2 ROLE OF EMPLOYEES........................................................................................................... 8
2.3 TARGET MARKETS AND CUSTOMER COHORTS..................................................................10
PART 3..........................................................................................................................................11
3.1............................................................................................................................................ 11
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PART 1
The new business venture which is focused in this report is a Legal agency which provides legal
assistance to different businesses. This business venture provides advice to professionals,
entrepreneurs and other individuals. This advice may be in different areas such as Company
laws, family law, Injunctions, Immigration, the court of protection, children contracts and
mental health. The focus will be on accepting the most challenging work and provide adequate
advice so different organisations seeking legal help.
This business will be able to make a mark because the foundation of this organisation will be
based on genuine legal knowledge. The spirit to help the people and provide timely advice on
different legal matters is a driving force for the business which will help in providing most
supportive legal services to the clients. The lawyers working in the agency may also be provided
with an opportunity for in-house training on a variety of issues (Helmers and Rogers, 2010). The
law firm will target businesses and address the issues faced by these companies while dealing
with legal matters. The location of this law firm will be in a prime location where courthouse,
dining and other facilities are available in the nearby areas and the customer finds it convenient
to visit the law firm according to his need.
1.1 BUSINESS TYPE
This law firm will carry its business in the form of a private limited company. The ‘limited’ status
of the firm increases the confidence of the consumer which helps in increasing the business. In
addition, being a private limited firm, the company will be able to get finical assistance from the
government. The government also provides its contribution to the pension funds provided by
the company to its employees. This business structure also helps in attracting the most talented
team of lawyers which further helps in increasing the sale of the business.
1.2 RESEARCH
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Existing competitors like DLA Piper, Clifford Chance, Allen and Overy and CMS are the largest
law firms in the UK. To compete with these existing law firms, it is necessary to recruit the most
talent solicitors at the agency which will help in creating a better standard of the services
provided (Gray and Davies, 2015).
Figure 1: Legal services sector forecast
Source: Law Society, 2019
We can observe in the above-shown chart that the demand for legal services is continuously
escalating in the UK. The total number of people employed in the legal agency is also very
impressive and the business venture of a legal firm is expected to get an ample amount of
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young graduates and experienced professionals to run the business efficiently. The legal
services play an important role in ensuring the regulatory compliance of different businesses
and therefore there is a strong business opportunity for a legal firm.
The demand for legal services is strong because the economy of the UK is continuously
expanding and the business needs legal assistance related to the company laws (Sarat, 2010).
On focusing on this niche market a legal agency can identify new opportunities to expand the
business. These businesses require these legal services on specified occasions and the legal
firms providing such service can offer their services at the right time to take the benefit of the
opportunity.
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PART 2
2.1 MCCARTHY’S 4P’S OF MARKETING
PLACE
The place where the new law firm will be located plays an important role in the business
figures. When a law firm is located near the busy market places or near to the courts, there are
stronger chances that people will notice the establishment and the visitors can be converted
into successful clients (Schlegelmilch, 2016). The customers should also be provided with a
detailed consultation on the different services required. The ambience of the law firm should be
clean and well organised which provides a professional look to the organisation.
SERVICES
A range of services needs to be offered in a law firm. The company laws are a complex riddle to
solve for the corporations and hence the service of a professional law firm becomes necessary.
Children contracts need a thorough examination of the different aspects related to the case and
therefore it takes a considerable time for delivering services (Solcansky and Simberova, 2010).
The new firm should ensure that the services are provided in a professional manner and the
clients are provided regular information regarding hearings of the case. Providing regular
information helps in building the trust of the client.
PRICE
The prices of the services offered should be decided according to the current market scenario.
Defining the target market also helps in finalising the correct prices of the services offered.
Deciding the right prices for the law services is s complex process and it is necessary to make a
survey on the prices offered by the largest law firms and finalise the prices for services
accordingly. Some discount offers can also be provided to attract potential clients (Stutely,
2012).
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PROMOTION
For promoting the services offered at the new law firm different social media channels can be
used. The traditional marketing channels are also quite effective but marketing the services of
the organisation through digital channels expands the reach of the services (Yasanallah and
Bidram, 2012). LinkedIn can also be used as a marketing channel and make a connection with
clients from different work spheres. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) can also be used as a tool
to bring more visitors to the website of the company.
2.2 ROLE OF EMPLOYEES
JOB ROLES ASSIGNED TO THE MANAGERS
In a legal agency, the human resources of the organisation have a key role in creating a
sustainable advantage. The managers at the organisation need to keep the employees at lower
level motivated at all times. The communication by the managers helps in addressing the
different needs of the employees. The managers need to take care of day-to-day needs as the
organisation has to make sure that the customers are treated in a friendly manner ( Roberts,
2018). In a legal firm, the managers need to communicate with the customers very frequently
and therefore it is important that their personality is attractive and influential which leaves a
positive impact on the customers.
ZERO-HOUR CONTRACT
Zero hour contract is an arrangement by the employer under which the exact hours of duty
required by the employee are not defined. Such an arrangement is successful in the industries
where there is irregular demand for the services (Baker, 2016). The zero hour contracts is a
convenient option for both employer and employee. The employer does not have to pay for the
idle work hours of the employees and at the same time, the employee can have greater
flexibility in work and fulfil his family responsibilities.
Advantages of Zero-hour contract
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 The zero hour contact is very convenient for such employees who are not willing to
work on a full-time basis. In law firms, such arrangement provides greater flexibility to
the solicitors and organisation can retain the best talent (Barrow et al., 2012)
 The employees need to be paid a minimum wage irrespective of the number of hours
which are actually offered by the employer.
 The flexibility in the working hours is the greatest attraction for the employees. Zero
hour contract is used by a large number of legal agencies in the UK (Finch, 2013).
Disadvantages of Zero-hour contract
 The employees working under such an arrangement are not able to work anywhere else
under a legal obligation. The employees need al to be available for providing their
services.
 The employees are not able to make proper work-life balance because the job timing is
irregular and the odd work hours make it difficult to manage time for other activities
(Khan, 2014).
 Zero hour contract is also used by some organisations to bully the employees and avoid
compulsory entitlements such as sick pay and holiday.
2.3 TARGET MARKETS AND CUSTOMER COHORTS
The target market for the legal services needs to be analysed comprehensively in order to get
an idea of the areas which need to be focused on selling. Different types of legal services may
be required for the organisations and analysing this need will help in targeting the right
customers and the type of services required. The business may require regular legal assistance
and in such case, the legal consulting firm can assure business on a regular basis (Roberts,
2018). Determining the target market help the law firm offer what the customer wants.
The businesses which are seeking legal advice regarding company laws and other such legal
matter should be providing specialised legal services. Targeting the marketing efforts of the
company to a niche market does not mean that other customer groups are neglected, it means
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the marketing efforts are more focused to a market which is likely to give better profits.
Targeting such markets with specialised marketing programs is an effective way of reaching
potential clients.
Customer cohorts are the customer groups which can be selected as the target customers for
offering the services of the law agency. These cohorts may include the businesses or individuals
are seeking legal assistance in different matters. Segmenting the market on the basis of similar
characteristics and buying habits is also an effective method of targeting the right customers.
The customers can be segregated on the basis of their gender, financial status, age group and
individual interests (Gray and Davies, 2015). Before making a strategy to market the services
offered by the law agency the target market needs to be finalised. These target customers will
be influenced by the help of various marketing programs.
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PART 3
3.1
The business related with the legal services is primarily based on serving people, but in order to
get decent benefits from the business, it is necessary that the people are able to identify the
brand name of the organisation (Sarat, 2010). Every business needs some sort of planning to
place its product and services in an attractive manner so that more and more customers can be
connected with. Below discussed are some strategies which can be used to expand the scale of
the business:
STRATEGIES TO EXPAND THE BUSINESS
Market on digital platforms
The marketing needs to be done on different digital channels so that the customer can
differentiate the brand name of the organisation from other competitors. Search engine
optimisation includes optimising the website of the organisation according to the keyword
search done by the customers on Google (Roberts, 2018). These digital marketing platforms are
very cost effective and can be used to make a connection with a wide audience in minimum
possible time.
Hire the best talent
A law firm can grow sustainably when best minds are working to make the service more
suitable according to customer needs. Just by selecting the right candidate the growth cannot
be achieved, the employees need to provide regular training and assistance to expand their
knowledge base (Gray and Davies, 2015). In the legal profession, knowledge acquisition is an
important factor and providing the employees with an opportunity to learn can help them grow
professionally and also improve the standards of services offered to the customers.
Acquire local leads
The customers at the local level play an important role in the legal business. To connect with
these customers, email marketing is an effective technique. Tele-calling can also be used to
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generate leads. The local newspapers can also be used to advertise legal services. The
brochures of the organisation should highlight the desirable features of the services according
to the local clients (Gray and Davies, 2015). These features may include affordable services and
easy to get appointments etc.
Provide excellent customer services
The customer services also play an important role in running a legal agency business
successfully. When a customer approaches a legal firm, the relationship with the clients is for
the long term. In this duration, the managers at the law firm need to interact with these
customers regularly (Roberts, 2018). When these interactions are done in a polite and friendly
manner, it leaves a positive impression on the customers and is helpful in enhancing the brand
strength of the organisation.
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REFERENCES
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Datasets to Reshaping Data Infrastructures?. May 27, 2015). Working paper presented
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