Tesco is in the process of launching it’s own range of legal services, after Lord Falconer’s call for an increase in cheap and accessible legal advices.
In addition to budget will writing and storage services (already offered elsewhere) the Tesco Legal site will also offer a DIY divorce kit for around eight pounds, which would allow the parties involved to put an end to a marriage without the need for a solicitor or traditional legal advice.
The well known chain is also looking at the possibility of introducing DIY letting agreements and bundles including any form required in order to start a limited company. These packs will be supplemented with a glossary of terms and an online Q&A service, which will help users with the often complex legalise.
Experts have suggested that Tesco Legal Store is the start of things to come and that going forward other high street chains will open their own legal services sections, with some implying there will be an even wider range of services available in this manner, especially after a reform in the rules previously governing law firms.
After a consultation document was announced in July 2009, Lord Falconer suggested that the so called ‘Tesco law’ would be a benchmark for legal advice being offered to the public via high street companies, although Sir David Clementi, who lead the consultation, played down the idea and branded the term ‘Tesco law’ a distraction from the matter at hand.
Whatever you want to call it the prospect of DIY or budget law is definitely a likely one, and if it is rolled out across more companies then the likelihood will be that fewer people will seek legal advice via the traditional channels, with many in the field raising concerns about the quality of this type of legality and urging the public to continue using reputable solicitors practices.
Despite this, The Law Society, whose members will undoubtedly be affected by the move have suggested that they view Tesco’s legal site as an “innovative addition to the market”, implying there is room for both in today’s market.
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