The news
that HMV has gone into Administration marks the end of an era.
When I worked in
Liverpool City Centre I spent many a happy lunch hour looking at and accumulating
CDs –
But equally
I have to confess that most of my music these days comes from iTunes or Spotify
and I am struggling to remember the last time I bought a CD.
There is
similar news today that the video chain, Blockbuster is also in trouble –
This is due
to the decline in Video/DVD rentals.
Now in a
recession which is as deep and enduring as any I have ever known, closures are
to be expected. But these particular failures demonstrate more clearly than
anything that the world is changing at a staggering pace. Businesses who adapted
well to the changing world of the 20th Century are the casualties of
the 21st.
What has
this got to do with a blog lawyers and legal practice? Simply this; lawyers who fail to adapt to the
changing world are destined to be left behind. This is something that I have
touched on before – particularly in relation to marketing –
Clients are
unlikely to instruct particular lawyers because they have always done so. After
April 2013 they will no longer be able to rely on buying work from referrers. There
are areas of work which are highly specialised and clients will look for the
best. Where will they find them? Google. I don’t book a holiday destination without
visiting Trip Adviser. How do people communicate? They use social networking
sites. Twitter and Facebook are becoming mainstream, and not just the domain of
the young.
If only 5%
of clients want to receive traditional letters why do so many of us spend time
and money stuffing envelopes rather than sending emails?
This is an
opportunity for lawyers to take advantage of the changing world and to become
modern thriving businesses. Change can be a threat but it can also create opportunities.
I suspect that we will have a very different legal profession in ten years time
– although I might be doing the Virtual Gardener Blog by then!
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