The need for an online legal marketplace

The Future of LawThe inevitable shift of legal services from

offline to online

A LawPivot and Northwestern

University Venture Lab Project

Small businesses, crushed under the weight of high,

unpredictable legal fees, are underserved by the

traditional law firm structure.

BUSINESSES LAWYERS PROGRESS REGULATION INNOVATION

In response, many companies are

pushing for fixed fee arrangements

to manage legal costs or cutting out

the lawyer altogether.


At the same time, recent

graduates are either turning down

or not receiving offers from large

law firms, and instead are joining

small firms.small firms.


But solo practitioners, who account for But solo practitioners, who account for

one third of lawyers in the US, have

not seen inflation-adjusted income

grow since the mid 1980s.


Some small firms rely on old ways of drumming

up business, which include:

• Referrals

• Public presentations at seminars and trade

association shows

• Direct communication efforts like • Direct communication efforts like

telemarketing, post card and direct sales letters


These are now fundamentally outdated.

The new model is to go online to find clients.


Private industry has made progress

incorporating technology on several

fronts. fronts.


Some companies cut out the lawyer entirely, and use self-service

legal sites like LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer for basic legal

needs.


“But the real work that the lawyer is doing is

tailoring the documentsto the specific needs of the client.”to the specific needs of the client.”

Professor Esther Barron

Director of the Entrepreneurship Law Clinic at Northwestern Law School


Many states are

attacking

companies like

LegalZoom for

practicing law practicing law

without a license.


In the near future, there will be an electronic

legal marketplace where clients can go to find

and select their legal advisors in an informed

manner.


Lawyers use the internet to build a reputation, and

businesses use the internet to hire a lawyer and seek

free legal advice.


We talked to one of our LawPivot

lawyers about the importance of an

online reputation.



LawPivot lawyer Dustin Manwaring

practices California law from his office in

rural Idaho. He maintains an online

presence to build a client base in

California.

He told us “the borders and barriers are being

broken as far as where lawyers are located.”



“New law graduates and individual

practitioners may need to figure out how

to be the best in a niche, establish an

online reputation and let people find

them.”

Many sites allow lawyers to show off their

expertise as a way to attract clients.


Lawyers used to be able to

charge high prices for access to

this information,


but according to

LawPivot CEO Jay

Mandal, lawyers are

now offering these

commoditized

services for free, and


services for free, and

only charging for

customized or

bespoke services.

Unfortunately, companies have been

unable to innovate further in some

cases because of well-meaning but

outdated regulations.


Restrictions on a

lawyer’s ability to

advertise are meant

to protect a client’s

choice of lawyer choice of lawyer

during a time often

filled with duress or

emotional difficulty.



Furthermore, lawyers and business people cannot split

fees in the US. The only viable platform is a general,

unfiltered posting of lawyers, where prospective clients

pay subscription fees unconnected to lawyers’ fees in

order to access the information.

Such restrictions discourage private Such restrictions discourage private

investment in the online legal services

industry.


Unsurprisingly, 28%of Americans state that

they are unable to

compare information

about different

attorneys, and 27%state that they are so state that they are so

intimidated and

confused by the

process of choosing a

lawyer that their ability

to research options is

limited.


This mass confusion

hardly preserves the

clients’ freedom of choice.


Because new regulations cannot keep pace

with the rapid pace of technological

innovation, lawyers are left with little

guidance about online actions.


Relaxing these regulations would benefit clients

and lawyers. But, even with these regulations,

there are still excellent opportunities.


LawPivot started as a legal Q&A website for LawPivot started as a legal Q&A website for

small companies to gain access to

confidential and free crowdsourced legal

answers.



This gave lawyers an opportunity to meet and market their services to

potential clients. Clients’ questions are matched to lawyers in

different specialty areas based on a personalized search algorithm.

On December 1,

LawPivot launched its

legal marketplace

evolving from a free

Q&A site into a site that

facilitates transactions facilitates transactions

between lawyers and

clients.


Law Pivot believes that the best solution for lawyers and

clients is a

trusted and efficient legal marketplace

where Law Pivot facilitates transactions, provides pricing and

rating information to clients and provides a platform for

lawyers to build reputations and professional relationships

online.


LawPivot believes that going forward, the best lawyers will

distinguish themselves by offering bespoke legal judgment.


And while advancements in technology may lead to some

difficult displacement for employees at law firms,

It will also allow the legal industry to

become more efficient and better serve

those in need of affordable and

customized legal advice.

THE END

The need for an online legal marketplace

Technology

Transcript of The need for an online legal marketplace