Competitive edge: Law of attraction

Having a competitive edge is, according to any good marketer, vital for business success. Not only does it help to set you apart from the competition, it will allow you to attract customers or clients, and drive profitability.

Developing a competitive edge in the legal industry requires a mix of expertise, innovation and client-focused service, which when brought together stand you in good stead to compete in the market.

If your firm can offer something unique, be it a niche area of expertise or a notably client-centric approach, you can start to attract clients and build brand loyalty, all while ensuring that your business can adapt to change if the economic landscape dictates.

The idea of offering something unique was very much at the heart of Jurit’s objectives when a handful of senior lawyers and in-house counsel from Clyde & Co, Macfarlanes and IBM set the firm up in 2014.

When Jurit was set up, our competitive edge was that we operated on a completely virtual basis.

At the time there were very few firms operating in this way — even fewer with the very senior international and City lawyers we had on board.

Their experience, together with the very competitive rates we were able to offer as a virtual firm, provided us with a true competitive edge — and this soon translated into a lot of work for top-tier organisations.

Over the course of 10 years, we evolved from a fledging firm with a handful of lawyers turning over £300,000 a year, to the multi-million-pound law firm and team of 40 people that we are today.

But when Covid-19 struck, that unique selling point of bring a virtual law firm fell away, as lawyers at firms the length and breadth of the UK reverted to a homeworking model too.

Despite this, the fundamentals of Jurit’s competitive edge remained the same. Where we continued to stand out was our business model and the senior experience and technical expertise of our people. Together with competitive rates, it allowed us to continue to compete well in the market.

But, while having a competitive edge is important to attract clients, it isn’t the end of the story. In a people-centric business such as the law, it is just as important to possess that competitive advantage to attract and retain talent.

This this has seen our initial USP of operating a completely virtual model come back into play post-pandemic.

As other law firms kickstarted 2025 with the mandating of a full-time return to the office, we have seen more interest than ever from lawyers wanting a more flexible working pattern.

There will be a lot of lawyers out there who will not want to return to the office full-time, for a host of reasons — from childcare and commute times to others’ needs for flexibility and convenience. So, we see 2025 as a year of real opportunity for us in that regard.

With opportunity comes challenges, and we are alive to the changing risks of running a small law firm today — from the usual cashflow, IT and compliance hurdles, to recruitment and resourcing.

One of the biggest risks for small law firms like us is not having the ability to prepare for and respond to the unknown.

We couldn’t have predicted something like the pandemic, and we were somewhat fortunate in that we were already operating a virtual model so we hit the ground running. But we were dealing with other organisations who were not yet used to that change, and that was challenging in its own way.

The real elephant in the room for small law firms is the issue of succession. It can be difficult to find the right people for your model, particularly if your brand is fledgling. Having a competitive edge, such as a completely virtual model, can prove attractive to certain lawyers.

In my experience, lawyers who are entrepreneurial enough to lead their own practices, and senior enough to have their own following, can really thrive in smaller firms like ours.

They get the enjoyment and satisfaction of being in charge of their own destiny, without all the pressures of City firms, while benefiting from a collegiate culture with good rewards. You just have to be willing to make the leap.