Customer-centricity, resilience and flexibility in the legal services sector

Pepperell, Ben

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to identify and investigate the disconnect between contemporary client expectations and law firms’ current ability to deliver on those expectations, in the context of a chronically underfunded justice system.
It goes on to explore strategies to close the gap, so law firms are able to not just survive, but thrive, despite the significant challenges to client experience posed by factors beyond lawyers’ direct control. This is my reason for writing this thesis – our industry has so far proven unable to influence government into funding a justice system of the calibre we had four decades ago, so we must instead evolve our business models to mitigate the challenges of an ailing system, to deliver the quality of service and access to justice that our clients want and deserve.
Existing research has tended to avoid tackling the thorny topic of the degradation of the justice system, and there has also been less focus on the business of law. But with a tipping point now being reached, it is imperative that the legal services sector leaves behind tradition and concrete thinking, and finds a solution to move forward positively, for the sake of the profession and the sake of the general public in England and Wales.
Drawing on literature around customer expectation, the current state of the justice system, and cross-sector examples of best practice in business, this paper also uses a dual qualitative case study and interview methodology to explore real-life expectations and challenges – including client feedback, law firm owner questionnaires, and interviews with members of the judiciary, as well as best-practice business analysis and benchmarking – to set out real-life solutions pertinent to all high-street law firms.
The resulting conclusions – a framework of best practice – set out the ways in which law firms can develop and integrate strategies around people, places, processes and technology, to deliver what the customer wants and needs despite the limitations of the legal system context. It includes steps for becoming more responsive, more flexible, and more customer-centric, to ultimately become more resilient as a business.

Citation

Pepperell, B. (2025). Customer-centricity, resilience and flexibility in the legal services sector. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/5087937

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Mar 25, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 25, 2025
• Keywords: Law
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/5087937
• Additional Information: Law; Faculty of Business, Law and Politics; University of Hull
• Award Date: Feb 24, 2025