02/10/25
Legal services regulators from across the sector came together for the latest Consumer Focused Regulation Workshop to explore how new regulation indicators can be put into practice.
By providing a forum for discussing both the challenges and opportunities involved in implementing guidelines set out in Consumer Focused Regulation in Legal Service, these workshops, held by the Legal Services Consumer Panel, aim to support a more consumer-led approach.
This latest session focused on the Approach to Consumer Protection indicators, with particular concern for consumer complaints procedures and the profession’s ability to meet customer needs.
The Legal Ombudsman also contributed to the discussion, explaining that first tier resolution within the sector is a key area for improvement.
Supporting consumer understanding
One of the main insights to come out of the report is the need for providers to go beyond simply sharing product information with their customers. Instead of giving out legal definitions or overviews to potential clients, there is rising demand for providers to ‘demonstrate that consumers understand’ the products they are buying.
This means ensuring customers receive accessible, jargon-free explanations that educate them on how a product works, as well as what the product represents in both monetary and legal terms.
There is also a need for providers to be transparent about information pertaining to timelines, service level information, regulatory data, key questions to ask their service providers, and how to lodge any complaints they may have.
All this points towards a call for improved lines of communication between client and adviser that help to build strong, long-term relationships beneficial to both. Clients want to feel informed, supported, and confident on their journey, knowing that their individual needs are being met by a professional who’s working in their best interests.
Equally, advisers should benefit from investing wholly in their clients, leading to sustained customer relations and an increase in referrals.
Legacy’s Recommendation Report achieves all this and more. By using plain language, tailored explanations, and even animations to help clients truly grasp estate planning options, the report actively educates clients on the products recommended to them, empowering them to make informed decisions and ask more in-depth questions.
Not only that, but Legacy’s client also-facing app enables swift, secure communications between clients and advisers, giving customers access to the personalised expertise they need at the touch of a button.
All communications are stored within the app for future reference, supporting both client understanding and traceability for their adviser; clients are also kept up to date with the progress of their case with regular notifications.
With Legacy’s app and Recommendation Report, you can be confident you are meeting the recommended regulation guidelines for supporting consumer understanding, transparency, and providing open access to your professional expertise.
Building evidence of consumer outcomes
In addition to providing clients with increased value services, regulators want the sector to collect better data on whether clients feel they’ve received value and fair outcomes in their dealings with their professional adviser.
This would require providers to find a way of measuring customer satisfaction and supplying regular reports that demonstrate their sustained delivery of excellence across all their client interactions and services.
Legacy’s Recommendation Report allows you to keep track of and evidence your exemplary conversion rates, showing how your use of the reports has built consumer trust and helped boost customer satisfaction.
It also allows you to showcase your commitment to achieving tailored and successful outcomes for your clients with them at the centre of the journey, rather than striving to push sales and making only increased revenue a driver for your business.
The ability for clients to make their own referrals and submit feedback via the app, also shows your willingness to not only receive both positive and constructive comments from your customers, but to also act on these to continually improve and develop your services.
Protecting vulnerable consumers
Ways that help providers to protect their vulnerable clients, including those with diminished capacity, was also highlighted in the workshop.
Ensuring clients with additional needs are not exploited or left confused was a major concern for the report and one that’s backed by increasingly strict guidelines from the CMA on procedures to follow when taking instruction from vulnerable individuals.
This is, of course, in the best interests of you, the adviser, as well as your clients. Any queries or concerns over your approach to taking instruction from customers who are confirmed as vulnerable – or those whose capacity is under question – doesn’t just put the client’s planning in danger; it also undermines your professionalism and business practices.
To help safeguard both you and your clients, CTT’s Client Services team is here to support you when working with vulnerable individuals. We can advise on when a mental capacity assessment is appropriate and, if needed, recommend two trusted companies who can carry out these checks—particularly useful if you’re having difficulty locating a suitable medical professional.
In addition, we offer practical guidance on working with vulnerable clients, including training courses focused on recognising and mitigating undue influence. These provide actionable tips and highlight key considerations that may impact the validity of a client’s planning.
By choosing to use CTT’s Legacy Software, the legal documents you create for your clients are compliant and follow best-practice. With supporting documentation such as the Will Clarity Statement that provides reasoning behind the client’s wishes, and a full audit trail that backs up your adherence to due diligence and satisfies full Larke V Nugus disclosure, Legacy Software helps mitigate any challenges.
Inclusivity and digital innovation
As the world moves toward to what’s fast becoming an entirely digital future, with many public-facing services such as banks and post offices adopting technology in place of paper processes, it’s vital that the estate planning sector keep up with these advancements.
Equally, the panel noted that in doing so, the move to a digital service should remain inclusive, enhancing access to legal services for customers, not putting up barriers.
With this in mind, you can rest assured knowing CTT’s entire digital journey for onboarding and managing client cases is always backed by real human support, giving clients access to your expertise whenever needed and making estate planning more inclusive for all.
Along with smoothing the client journey and improving customer communications, CTT’s digital tools also help clients keep track of their planning on a range of accessible devices. Clear, informative videos demonstrate the uses of various legal products, reducing mistakes and misunderstandings, and can be viewed at any time.
Conclusion
As the provision of legal services becomes increasingly client focused, and the fair delivery of those services comes under tighter scrutiny, advisers are being encouraged to shift towards providing a more holistic approach to working with customers.
CTT is committed to supporting our members in navigating these pressures and adapt their service delivery to not only align with the new regulations but also exceed client expectations.
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