Nappy site helps firm soak up employment clients

Leading Stockport law firm Sinclair Abson Smith has launched a Web site inspired by the Pampers Nappies site, offering a range of free basic legal services.

The site (www.saslawyers.co.uk) allows companies to draft free contracts of employment, while workers with unfair dismissal claims can calculate redundancy payments and awards as well as drafting an employment tribunal application.

The site also offers free divorce petition templates and wills, together with a conveyancing costs calculator.

Sinclair IT partner John Cook said he first thought of setting up a Web site when he came across the Pampers site.

'It wasn't so much an advertisement for pampers, it's a Web site dedicated to child care,' he said.

The site also quotes prices so clients can get the work done by solicitors if they do not want to handle it themselves.

Mr Cook explained: 'Once they've filled in the form, they will get so fed up with it that they will come to us.'

Mr Cook said the firm hoped to set up a hyperlink with an estate agency allowing for virtual tours of properties, and to set up a case management system.

Also on the Web this week, innovative London firm Sykes Anderson has added a new section on its site (www.sykesanderson.com) to help small landlords gain possession of residential properties; award-winning site Law on the Web (www.lawontheweb.co.uk) has introduced a section listing lawyers who can advise abroad and have languague skills; south-east law firm Argles Stoneham Burstows is offering an on-line quotation service as part of its updated Web site (www.asb-law.com); and insurance industry site Insurance-first.com has added a free legal directory for specialist firms.

Anne Mizzi