Coulter: turning legal services into a commodity
Alternative business structure Brilliant Law has claimed an advance in the online sale of legal services to SMEs by tailoring each one to the needs of the purchaser for no extra fee – with solicitors even taking payment for them over the phone.
Brilliant Law, whose principal backer is BetFair founder Bert Black, says its new online shop is part of a drive “to shake up the industry and will see individual legal products together with bundled legal services available”.
A wide variety of fixed-fee products and services are available for businesses. When the transaction reaches the checkout, this triggers a call from a Brilliant Law solicitor to make contact with the customer, in order to tailor the package to their requirements. Other online legal document models generally involve customers having to pay more for lawyer help with their purchases.
A solicitor is also on hand to offer a telephone consultation on what legal products customers require and can take payment for purchased products over the phone.
For example, the ‘Start-up Platinum Business Package’ costs £2,000 and offers: a ‘business needs’ 30-minute consultancy session, employment law advice line, employee handbook, five standard contracts of employment, employee personal development plan framework, employee personal development plan form, directors service agreement, shareholder agreement, website policies pack, and company formation pack/terms and conditions for the supply of goods and services.
Paul Coulter, group marketing director for Brilliant Law and formerly of WeBuyAnyCar.com, said: “We want businesses to have a totally transparent choice of legal services coupled with first-class customer service…
“This is all about turning legal services into a commodity, doing things differently and stripping away the mystique that still surrounds the industry. We know the biggest frustrations that a business owner faces when it comes to legal services is the unknown cost of the service they require, together with the lack of contact ability. Our service provides a totally transparent service, and provides the customer with immediate access to a solicitor.”
Meanwhile. online legal documents website Rocket Lawyer – the US business now in the UK – has raised a further $15m (£10m) in funding. Earlier this year it bought crowdsourced advice website LawPivot.
