Market upheaval spurs innovation at HHG

The GFC and new technology have put increasing pressure on law firms, but local firm HHG Legal Group is taking the opportunity to tailor a new service for the middle segment of the market.

The 2010 Business News Rising Stars runner up is launching HHG Essentials, which managing director Simon Creek says is designed for a part of the population that has found it difficult to afford high quality legal representation.

Mr Creek said his firm’s solution was to embrace technology to offer a range of fixed fee packages for common events in peoples’ lives when legal assistance might be required, and for which a number of web-based document services exist without the backing of a recognised law firm.

The areas include everything from business agreements to dealing with losing a driver’s licence.

“You still need a quality service, but these are people who, past that point, don’t need anything complex,” Mr Creek told Business News.

He said traditional law firms might make assumptions about what clients need and want, resulting in unnecessary costs.

“(HHG) is adding a whole service that is geared up to use technology to deliver quality solutions for quite simple matters”

Essentials contains four modules accessible through the company’s website, family, criminal, small business start-up, and wills and estates, while also providing for direct contact with staff.

Mr Creek said it was important that customers could still get high quality advice from a premium firm, but that many clients shouldn’t have to pay for bespoke services.

It comes at a time when many local firms are merging into national and international brands and relying on outsourcing to lower costs.

Discount offerings are also appearing, including online document generators created by non-law firms, with questionable quality.

‘That’s where I see the commoditisation of the legal profession delivering bad quality; it’s the real discount end,” said Mr Creek.

“But at the other end I see the national and international firms simply refusing to change enough.

“We want to be in the middle.

“We are flexible, we are nimble, we are determined to use technology to reduce costs, deliver better service, and tailor solutions, not just for our wealthy clients but for middle class Australia.”