Private investors back comparison site
A Hertfordshire solicitor says he has secured £500,000 of private investment for a website that enables consumers to compare law firms’ prices, in the latest move to stake out territory in the fast-developing sector.
The announcement, by CompareLegalCosts.com, was made in the week that the Law Society revealed that it is investigating setting up its own online ‘comparison facility’.
Employment solicitor Michael Welsh launched CompareLegalCosts last year to enable consumers to compare fixed-price quotes for services. The site is free to consumers and paid for by law firms’ subscriptions. Consumers and businesses can without obligation get up to five fixed quotes from solicitors and barristers.
Welsh said that the site was the first to commit to fixed prices. ‘Consumers and businesses demand fixed-price services like those being offered by the Co-operative and Riverview Law. This site enables the legal profession to be on a platform that allows them to compete with large brands,’ he said.
Welsh said that 100 firms have already signed up, and while he wants to increase the number, it will be restricted to ensure firms secure a suitable volume of leads.
The new funding, from a group of anonymous private investors, will be used to market the company, he added.
Other legal services comparison sites include LegalCompare.com, bid4fees.com and Wigster.com.
The Legal Services Board and the Legal Services Consumer Panel have called for professional bodies and regulators to engage with comparison websites.
Earlier this month, the LSB reported that consumers were often ‘swamped’ by information online and gave up halfway through their search. The board said there was real potential for an official and independent ‘legal advice and guidance’ site.
A Law Society spokeswoman said: ‘We respect the LSB’s objective of making it easier for consumers to choose a solicitor, and are investigating development of a comparison facility using our data.'
However, she indicated that the initiative was still in its early stages and will be developed further in 2013.
Comments
Wigster
Just a slight correction please
"....and Wigster.com, the consumer brand of national firm Shoosmiths"
Wigster is very pleased to feature the consumer brand of Shoosmiths on our website as very good firm from whom legal services can be purchased.
But by way of correction, Wigster.com is not actually the consumer brand of national firm Shoosmiths.
Nick Miller
Wigster.com
Wigster
Thanks for pointing that out.
Michael Cross, news editor
are you sure...?
I wrote a similar comment a couple of years ago about a similar website that no-one has heard of since. But I'll try again....
Who is putting £500k into this? By which I mean which fool has been persuaded into buying advertising for a website. It's ridiculous, even basic investigation and a quick look round the internet show these services are common and provide a poor service to all. And the LSB agrees.
Our firm has tried many of these websites. I can assure you none have delivered on what their sales people promises. Infrequent, low quality enquiries that cost us more to handle correctly than we ever made in fees. I thought or hoped we'd moved on from this, but I suppose the old tricks are hard to give up.
I also heard Wigster had gone bust, but it appears to still be hanging in there. Any enquiries for me yet?
Yes - I am sure
In response to 'anon on Thu, 28/06/2012 - 12.42'. Where you say 'Our firm has tried many of these websites' you may be right in respect of the websites you have tried but since you have not tried this one I doubt that you comments have any validity.
I was and remain an agnostic as to referral websites as a whole because as you say leads can often be poor quality or potential clients are looking for free or cheap advice.
So when contacted by the team at comparelegalcosts I was initially sceptical. It was presented to me as a fixed fee site allowing me to assess how many paying instructions I needed to secure a profit from the site's instructions.
Within a month I had received instructions from a multiple referrer who send my commercial property team significant levels of work well a truly exceeding expectations on ROI.
There is no doubt that the leads are variable as with any other site but if a site like this is to work for a firm that firm has to change the way it handles leads so that it becomes more sales focussed. This site may not be to everyones taste but from my firm's perspective this has been money well spent and has enable us to develop a group of people to focus on turning those leads into 'GOOD' fee paying customers.
For those who are unsure I would suggest that you approach this site carefully more becuase of the internal changes that this website will demand from your firm. Are you able to achieve the appropriate lead conversion rates?
Remember one thing - very few firms really understand their sales channels and how to win more work. What most will appreciate is that the more people that you know (and who contact you) who need lawyers the more likely that you have a chance to make those people your clients.
In it to win it
The crucial point, as you say, is that it's easy to knock the online sources of instructions, but there is great work which can be obtained, notwithstanding some wasted time as well.