Founding Scottish member firm of QualitySolicitors
11 May 2009
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Inksters made Scottish legal history today by becoming the first Scottish member of new UK legal brand, QualitySolicitors.
QualitySolicitors, which launches today, is a unique umbrella brand under which solicitor firms practice, whilst retaining their own name and independence. The brand comes as a response by the legal profession to recent reforms, already in place in England under the Legal Services Act 2007 and currently in progress in Scotland which will allow non-legal bodies such as supermarkets and banks to provide legal services. The entrance of these familiar brand names is considered a serious threat to the legal profession, with over a third of all English firms being predicted to disappear as a result. The response by a select group of just over 100 solicitor firms in the UK is to develop their own brand and the aim is to turn QualitySolicitors into a household name for legal services. Users of the service will go online or call QualitySolicitors’ legally trained staff who will then match them to the best suited lawyer from within the organisation.
Chief Executive, Craig Holt, said “For too long members of the public have had to face a lottery when choosing a solicitor, relying on directories with no basis upon which to choose. Recent events like the miners’ compensation scandal have reminded us all that choosing the right solicitor is absolutely crucial. All our member firms are specifically selected for their exceptional quality and value for money and are then subject to continual public feedback, with any firm not meeting our high standards forced to leave the organisation. QualitySolicitors provides a long overdue resource where people can find a solicitor and be confident that they will both be of the highest quality and provide value for money”.
Referring to Inksters’ membership Saleem Arif, Chief Operating Officer, said “we are delighted to welcome Inksters as our first founder member in Scotland. We are a true UK brand and Scotland is of huge importance to us. Our membership is highly selective and I can’t think of a better firm to start our Scottish membership than Inksters as they epitomise the qualities QualitySolicitors stands for; high quality, excellent value, innovation and a human face to the law. Moving forward we will be looking for a selection of the best firms in Scotland to add to our strength here and I look forward to personally overseeing our expansion throughout Scotland”.
Brian Inkster of Inksters said “I am delighted that Inksters were invited to become the founding Scottish member firm of QualitySolicitors. At Inksters we are continually seeking new challenges and innovative ways of delivering legal services. Our alliance with QualitySolicitors marks a major step in the development of Inksters as we enter our second decade in business. I am very much looking forward to working with QualitySolicitors and seeing their brand develop within Scotland as other Scottish law firms join the organisation”.
Update: December 2011:-
Inksters, became, in May 2009, the founding Scottish Member firm of QualitySolicitors. This was before QualitySolicitors became the branded organisation that it is today. Inksters decided not to rebrand as QualitySolicitors Inksters but instead left QualitySolicitors in December 2011 and are building their own unique
brand Inksters.