Legal expertise going cheap

By Louis White

What's the difference between a lawyer and a herd of buffalo? The lawyer charges more but not in the field of small business where an array of legal firms lowering their fees to win over Australia’s biggest business sector.

 Source Legal Online are one such firm guaranteeing to charge no more than $400 a month until the end of 2015 for all legal work undertaken for any small business in Australia.

 The company have established a dedicated website aimed at entrepreneurs, sole traders and small businesses to capture this growing market.

 “Our mission is to provide a level playing field for small businesses and start-ups which often do not have resources of a large oragnisation to get legal advice,” Stanislav Roth, managing director, says.

 “We want to make legal services affordable and accessible to small businesses. Legal service should not be a ‘luxury item’, it is simply of one the various support services needed by businesses.”

 Roth believes that far too often small businesses simply can’t afford legal services and get by without any legal support, which can be risky or only contact lawyers when they have no choice.

 “Our chosen subscription price of $400 per month is based on what, we believe, will represent a fantastic value for start-ups and small business,” Roth says.

 Source Legal is tapping into the biggest market in Australia. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics survey completed in June 2014, 61 per cent of Australian businesses consist of sole traders, the next 27 per cent employ between one to four people, therefore 88 per cent of Australian businesses fall into the small category.

 The ABS figures also reveal that the most active trading businesses had annual turnovers of less than $200,000.

 Roth says that many sole traders and sole businesses simply can’t afford the services of the bigger legal firms.

 “As far as traditional law firms are concerned, we do not even really consider them competitors,” Roth says. “They are still firmly in the realm of selling their exorbitantly expensive time in six-minute units, so $400 would not even buy an hour of their time.

 “To our knowledge no-one offers legal services, let alone unlimited legal service, on a fixed fee subscription basis and nowhere near the price we are offering it. Therefore, I think, our model is truly unique and highly innovative.”

 LawPath is another example of providing a cheaper alternative to traditional law firms. The dedicated websites provides cloud legal services to small and medium businesses offering in excess of 600 lawyers and more than 200 documents to choose from.

 In its simplest form, LawPath promotes itself as a ‘double-sided marketplace’ that acts as a middleman, connecting small to medium sized businesses that need legal services to expert Australian lawyers who are looking for new sources of revenue.

 “One of the most important features of the LawPath platform is our legal health check, an online interview that asks about the structure and services the business provides,” Damien Andreasen, co-founder, says.

 “Once completed, our technology analyses the data provided and makes intelligent recommendations on the tasks, products and services the business needs to manage its legal obligations.”

 LawPath claims to have more than 10,000 users savings over $5 million in legal fees.

 “We've never seen another company systematise this process and use the data to educate the consumer,” Andreasen says. “This empowers the customer by giving them the information they need to understand their legal gaps without speaking to a lawyer or incurring the legal fees that follow.

 “We don't just educate, we also provide the tools our customers need to take immediately action, including over 200 legal and commercial documents, free legal advice from our lawyers, fixed-price lawyer reviews and quotes for legal matters that can't be solved by documents alone.”

 Customers have the option of purchasing LawPath documents, which range from $49 -$149 each, or they can subscribe for $49 per month giving them unlimited access to all 200 plus legal and commercial documents.

 “Our employment contract with lawyer review costs just $299, we know mid-tier firms who would charge in excess of $1000 for the same outcome,” Andreasen says.

 Legal123 an online legal firm selling DIY templates and offering legal services to small to medium businesses, online businesses and helping startups with all aspects of their businesses. 

 “Our DIY templates are either $59 or $159 and can be tailored for a particular business's circumstances,” Vanessa Emilio practice director, say.

 “For example, our website legal package, which includes privacy policy, website disclaimer and terms and conditions for a website, can be tailored for eight different business types, including fitness/exercise, photography, food/catering amongst others.”

 Legal123 do not charge retainer fees. They only charge clients for work completed, which will either be a set rate charge for package templates or an hourly rate for custom work or advice. 

 Their point of difference is that specialise in online businesses.

 “We were one of the first online law firms in Australia and we know we're well ahead of other law firms, knowing the ins-and-outs of the law as it applies to online businesses,” Emilio says.

 “And as online law and services are rapidly changing, keeping up is important. Most small to medium size law firms just aren't up to speed with online business law.”

Cheap legal services are on offer all around the country. Best not to wait too long before you need their services.