Liverpool Law

12 NEWS
What if Google launched a law firm?
“You have to learn the rules of the game and
then play better than anyone else.”
Albert Einstein
A few months ago Google
added car insurance to its
‘Google Compare’ suite of
products, products which
Google says are designed to
help people make confident
and more informed financial
decisions. Did those in the
insurance industry see this
coming? Probably. Can they
do much about it? Probably
not. Are they worried by it? I
should say so.
So I pose this question. What
if Google decided to launch
a full range consumer legal
services business in the UK
tomorrow? Presumably the
venture would be an
alternative business structure
owned by Google. It would
only need to employ one
lawyer as all the legal work it
attracts could be outsourced
to other law firms. And I can’t
imagine there would be a
shortage of law firms willing to
pay for panel slots or leads,
subject to any referral fee
ban issues of course.
It would have little difficulty
generating enquiries. After all,
consumers tend to look for
free advice before they resort
to paying for anything.
Between its search engine
and its video platform,
YouTube, the interface is
already in place and it has
tons of data about its
audience. The chances are
Google knows more about us
than our best friends and
certainly more than any
current law firm.
Those who refuse to play ball
with Google would no doubt
withdraw advertising spend
but it would be a brave firm
that picks a fight with the
Cost & Funding Update
with Prof
essor Dominic R egan
-
world’s leading search
engine. A famous crime
novelist was once asked
where she thought was the
perfect place to hide a body.
Her answer: ‘On page 2 of
Google’.
And what if Google teamed
up with IBM to deliver initial
legal advice backed by IBM’s
artificial intelligence engine. A
service delivered by everfresh-faced
avatars in any
chosen language at any time
of the day or night and
completely free. Many would
scoff at the idea but a few
consumers I know would find
the proposition quite alluring.
There’s an old adage that
says a good leader should
work out what a competitor
could do to wipe out his or
her business and then do it
before the competitor does.
After all, ‘excuse me, but
where have all our clients
AlphaBiolabs, the DNA, drug
and alcohol testing specialist,
has become the first to deliver
next day test results as
standard practice for all legal
DNA cases.
Only previously a service
offered for so called ‘peace of
mind’ cases, the Warringtonbased
laboratory has from this
week become the first
company to offer this service
for its legal cases, without any
additional costs attached.
The reassurance of speed
alongside the industry ISO
17025 accreditation and strict
procedures to maintain chain
of custody, means the service
and results are accepted by
family law courts, The Ministry
of Justice, UK Borders Agency
and The Child Support
Agency.
David Thomas, Managing
Director at AlphaBiolabs,
explained: “We understand
that with the nature of our
service that time is such an
important factor. The results we
provide can be life changing
and we appreciate it can be
a sensitive and worrying time.
“We have pushed the
boundaries and are delighted
to be providing next day results
for all legal DNA cases to help
reduce any unnecessary angst
when anticipating allimportant
results, making the
gone’ is not the most
comfortable question to be
fielding at a team meeting.
So how would you lead your
law firm in responding to such
a threat? Send me your
answers and there are a few
bottles put aside for the most
inventive ones. I found this
excellent wine merchant on
Google.
O’Connors LLP is a Liverpool
and London-based law firm
that advises law firms,
chambers and other
providers of legal services on
start-ups, structures,
regulation, funding, mergers,
acquisitions and disposals,
contractual arrangements
with third parties and
insurance. For further
information, please contact
Nigel Wallis, Pamela Rafiq or
Mark O’Connor at O’Connors
LLP via
www.oconnorsllp.co.uk.
AlphaBiolabs becomes fastest
testing lab in UK
whole process more effective
and efficient.”
AlphaBiolabs carry out all its
DNA, drug and alcohol testing
and analyses at its own
laboratory, eliminating the
need for external partners.
AlphaBiolabs has recently
expanded its workforce and
invested in state of the art
testing equipment. In addition,
AlphaBiolabs has developed a
network of walk-in centres in
locations across the UK with
centres already in place in
London, Liverpool, Manchester,
Preston and Birmingham, to
provide convenience for
sample collection.
Thomas added: “With our
peace of mind home kits
available at Home Bargains
stores, our competitively priced
legal testing and our walk-in
centres providing free sample
collection, DNA testing is more
affordable to families and
clients than ever before.
“When combined with next
day results and processes that
uses the latest technology, we
pride ourselves in offering the
fastest and most affordable
testing available, ensuring
answers are provided quickly
and accurately at a time when
they are needed most.”