THE law practice is indisputably one of the oldest professions in the world. Being among the oldest professions signifies that high values and ethical standards are key to the practice.
To ensure that the set standards and values are upheld, many countries have established law or legal services regulatory bodies with the aim of ensuring that law practitioners and law firms follow their prescribed codes of conduct or rules of conduct.
Different countries have different codes of conduct for law practitioners.
In Zambia one of the rules says that law practitioners or law firms shall not advertise or promote their services through the commercial channels.
Most of us have always wondered why this has been the case.
Imagine, you woke one morning and bought a paper in which you found an advertisement reading:
“Do you have problems in your marriage, do you wish to file for a divorce, or do you feel that your former employers dismissed you unfairly and wish to make them to pay you for wrongful dismissal?
Then come to Fred and Associates, Fred and Associates is the only law firm in town which provides quick and efficient legal services at the most affordable fees, call us now on!”
Can you imagine coming across such an advertisement?
How does it reflect on the legal fraternity, does it feel honest, genuine, ethical and professional? I am sure you can come up with your own analysis!
Essentially, one of the precise reasons why there have been restrictions for lawyers to promote or advertise their services is to help safeguard and restore the profession’s credibility and integrity.
Being a profession where all the practitioners almost provide the same services, where there is no proper distinction in types of services offered.
The only effective way of promoting law services from the others is by creating a reputation of success.
Success in law services is described in terms of past or previous records in winning cases. In the marketing context we could explain this as branding.
Branding results from creating a record of consistency, experience, image and value.
What we all need to understand is that the law profession is so much anchored on credibility, integrity and trust.
If any of the mentioned values are to be in disrepute, then the general public begins to lose confidence in the profession.
Even though I have not yet witnessed this done by Zambian law firms, applying public relations tactics such as making donations to vulnerable members of the community, associating with some causes, such as assisting retirees with matters pertaining to their unsettled benefits for free, representing widows in cases of property grabbing at no cost, would definitely give some law firm a unique selling proposition.
In fact this is one way through which the advertising stringent rules can be eluded.
In as much as law firms provide legal services, it is generally perceived that lawyers are supposed to be the custodians of the rules of natural justice, that is everyone is equal before the law and, therefore, everyone is entitled to some legal representation.
Having looked at things from this perspective, we should then begin to look at the reasons why legal firms still need to apply marketing to their services.
In marketing we believe that every firm or organisation, which has something to offer to the market or the public, be it a tangible product or intangible products commonly known as services,  needs to employ marketing.
It is, therefore, important for us to realise that marketing extends to activities such as customer service, public relations, business development  to mention but a few.
When you look at law services, you will observe that the number of law firms has increased over the past 10 years.
The increase of law firms implies that clients or customers wishing to engage the services of these law firms now have the freedom of choice.
When it comes to matters of choice, you will agree that we all have selection criteria.
For me, I will choose a law firm based on previous records and successes, another person will choose a law firm based on affordability, effective representation and so on and so forth.
Given these circumstances, it is wise that law firms begin to apply the marketing mix effectively in the way they deal with clients.
That is, how they offer their products or services, how they price these services, where they establish their firm which is place, how they get people to know or promotion, how they deal with clients which is process, the  quality of law staff they employ which is people and the environment they create for their customers or clients.
So you see that marketing is inevitable?  We look forward to Parliament’s position on this.
•The author is a consultant in marketing, public relations and customer service
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