2014 May be the Year to Find Your Lawyer Online

Posted on January 8, 2014 Updated on January 15, 2014

Here is an interesting article that notes the paradigm shift taking place in our legal community. The author predicts 2014 as the year that the search for legal services catches up with technology. I would have to agree — the writing is on the wall. A firm’s online presence is more important today than ever  before…

The legal services market is notoriously slow when it comes to adapting to technology. As a result, those in need of lawyers have historically been reluctant to use technology to find them. Think about it. You need a lawyer for your startup. Where do you turn? A friend? A business advisor? Someone else in your personal network? Now there are substantially greater options.Finding your lawyer online will become pervasive in the next 12 months. This is especially good news for entrepreneurs who would benefit from legal advice, but given the friction in the process, may be slow to find it.

Innovation in law has been slowly creeping along since 2001, when LegalZoom was founded to bring legal documents to the public. LegalZoom’s offering of deep discounts on standardized legal documents was transformative to the traditional industry. All of a sudden, consumers who might otherwise have forgone legal formalities had a viable alternative.

But that hasn’t translated to how consumers find and work with actual lawyers. Until now.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230614#ixzz2pqHFpbqb