Lawyers and accountants link up for on-line venture

BE-PROFESSIONAL: site to provide advice to smaller companies

City law firm Berwin Leighton and Big Five accountants Deloitte & Touche are to invest 5 million in what they claim is the first solicitor-accountant on-line joint venture.The independent joint venture company, Be-Professional, will be launched in October to provide on-line business solutions to small and medium-sized businesses.

A forerunner of the service will be available immediately to subscribers of WorldPay - an on-line tax and advice service for e-businesses (see wwwt@xandlegal.com).

The first tranche of services will provide companies with guidance and advice on VAT liability worldwide and allow on-line trading companies to create bespoke privacy statements.When fully launched, Be-Professional will offer information and guidance on law, accountancy and financial issues.

It will also provide a range of business documents such as employment agreements, articles of association and board minutes which users will be able to tailor by completing information questionnaires.Berwin Leighton's Be-Legal site, which was announced last year and offers information and documentation for start-up companies, will also be incorporated into the Be-Professional site.Companies will initially be charged 50 for three months access to the WorldPay site.

Costs for the full Be-Professional site will be announced later in the year.Neville Eisenberg, Berwin Leighton's senior partner, said: 'Our research shows there is a huge demand from small and medium-sized businesses for these services.

[Berwins and Deloittes] both felt we could take our expertise and translate it into services for a market which was not our traditional client base and then develop that market in the context of a separate business.'See Infotech,

Sue Allen