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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Access to justice and advice sector issues  →  Thread

Online cut-price legal advice is set to get more popular. But is it reliable?

Paul Treloar
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Head of Policy, LASA

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Total Posts: 842

Joined: 6 January 2011

Cut-price legal advice is growing in popularity – not so surprising, perhaps, in an era of economic hardship and legal aid cutbacks.

Ken Clarke’s campaign against the “compensation culture” and “no win, no fee agreements” is aimed at producing a generation of increasingly cost-conscious litigants.

One of the latest solutions, however, is not mediation but quick-fire opinions. A preference for online, instant gratification of legal curiosity may also be helping Expert Answers, a website that is out to promote its services as an alternative professional model. Adopting the unusual business approach of asking customers – not “clients” – to pay whatever sum they think the advice is worth (above a £10 minimum), it is exploring a new market.

Online cut-price legal advice is set to get more popular. But is it reliable?

So the thorny issue of charging clients for advice rears it’s head again. Although this does seem to be more about information and signposting services as much as anything. Some of the comments are quite interesting though, the antipathy directed towards the Law Society and legal aid advisers is particularly evident.

John Birks
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Welfare Rights and Debt Advice - Stockport Council

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The only surprise is that there’s not an app for that.

Paul Treloar
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Head of Policy, LASA

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Total Posts: 842

Joined: 6 January 2011

Very true actually, will speak to our IST team about the possibilities.

Alan Markey
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Director - Coventry Independent Advice Service

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There actually is an app for that!  If you’re looking for employment rights in dismissal situations, search the iTunes store for “I’ve Been Fired”.

In addition, there are numerous other services cropping up - including rightsolicitor.co.uk, questiontheexpert.com and whichlegalservice.co.uk.  All seem to offer ‘free’ initial advice with the option of their service taking your case further for a fee.  In the case of Which? it is a fixed annual membership fee.

Is it reliable?  Now that’s another question….

Alan