Hannah and I spent an interesting evening in the impressive setting of Halliwells Manchester offices last night debating why digital agencies and professional services just don’t seem to be getting on.

The question was put to a  well selected panel of Shaun Fandom, Chairman of Manchester Digital, Nick Rhind, MD from Web Development Agency CTI, Simon Wharton, MD online marketing agency Push On, Steve Kuncewicz, IP and Media lawyer Halliwells LLP, Coral Grainger, Innovation Activist M:KC and one of our clients Philip Hemsted, MD at Business psychologists Psycuity.

I think I’m inclined to agree with a point made by Nick Rhind that the heart of the problem lies in the fact that the digital community is used to crowd-sourcing information and will sooner have a quick look around online if they have a legal issue, than make their way to Spinningfields and knock on some expensive doors.

Having said this, as I put to the panel, both sides have something to gain from each other in their dealings with companies in the FMCG sector, like most of our clients.

Law firms have problems communicating human personalities and individuality to this sector and there’s never been an easier way to do this than online. Digital agencies are perfectly placed to implement the content managed, media rich websites which law firms desperately need to build their online profiles, although I would argue that they would be best off seeking guidance on strategy and tone from communications professionals. Marketing is a professional skill, not something to hand over to an inhouse person who could be put to better use stacking up billable hours.

In turn Digital Agencies are at risk of being seen as unreliable by this sector; we hear tales all the time of web agencies being slow, unresponsive and not delivering what was asked for. If, at the very first stage of a web development, contracts and agreements were properly drawn up then web agencies would have a better chance of maintaining their reputations and covering their backs.

The most noticeable thing last night, being neither a lawyer nor a web developer, was the amount of jargon thrown around by both sides and the obvious lack of understanding between the two industries. Both law and digital need each other moving forward, and the firms who understand and embrace that have the potential to take the lead on a growing business opportunity.