The Law Society take a stand against unregulated solicitors

The Law Society have released their Use a Professional. Use a Solicitor advertising campaign, encouraging consumers to use regulated and insured Law Society members for legal advice. This latest campaign follows last year’s controversial statement Don’t get mugged by an insurer — use a solicitor.

The slogan has been designed to be “humorous and attention-grabbing” and quickly portrays the target message to the public. It is aimed to highlight the importance of seeking advice from regulated law professionals when dealing with significant legal matters, such as writing a will.

Andrew Caplen, President of The Law Society comments, The growth of unregulated and do-it-yourself legal services means consumers are exposed to non-professional advice, which can be more of a hindrance than a help.

The campaign reinforces solicitors as the go-to experts when people are seeking legal advice on house purchases, will writing or establishing a new business, and directs people to the Find a Solicitor service on the Law Society website.

From now until early 2015, the campaign will cover 6 key areas of the law industry, including wills and probate, family law and criminal law. Case studies will also be submitted to support each of the focus areas, to demonstrate the real-life benefits of using a solicitor.

Posters will soon be displayed across train stations and buses within London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds, alongside videos running online within catch-up TV channels.

Local firms will be able to order their own advertisements and posters, where they can display their logo and contact details as part of the campaign. They will also be given the chance to submit their own success stories to the public.

News of the newly appointed Chief Executive of The Law Society has also been released. Catherine Dixon, Chief Executive of the NHS Litigation Authority, is set to join the company in January to replace retired Mr Hudson.

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