This legal tech startup is raising the bar for technology penetration in the sector, focuses on customisation

They say knowledge is half the battle. And when you’re battling legal cases, knowing you have a reliable legal team backed up by you goes a long way. Finding the right lawyers or law firms has always been a challenge for the ‘aam junta.

Himanshu Gupta, founder of legal tech startup Lawyered, identified this gap in collaboration with LexisNexis India, one of the largest content aggregator and publishing companies in India.

“I joined LexisNexis in 2008 when they started aggregating online content. I started as a product manager and in nine years I rose to become Associate Director-Online Solutions. It was during that time that I realized that people who needed legal resources, skilled workers, etc. were looking online first, ”he recalled. Connect with Lawyered

At Lexis, Himanshu worked closely with the legal ecosystem and developed research solutions for lawyers. This helped him understand their real problem – the lack of visibility, which resulted in fewer business opportunities. Consumers who sought information also lacked awareness and access to good resources.

India generates more than three billion legal interventions annually, and there are 2.3 million registered lawyers in the country, around 80 percent of whom are actively practicing. According to Himanshu, an average of 100,000 lawyers join every year.

According to him, despite these high numbers, the conversion rate is extremely poor. On the demand side, consumers are unaware of the basics of how, where, how, and why – so they avoid reaching for help. Additionally, there is a social stigma associated with legal issues in the country that also discourages them.

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On the supply side, customer acquisition is not their forte, while lawyers manage and provide legal services to the best of their ability. After recognizing this huge gap in the market, Himanshu set about organizing this disorganized sector in 2017 and laid the foundation for Lawyered.

Himanshu was not new to entrepreneurship. During his business trip, he started a tech services platform, which for various reasons, including a lack of market adaptation and misunderstandings among the co-founders, did not experience a time test.

“Fortunately, at this point I only lost“ money ”. What I gained was a tremendous experience. Before I ventured to Lawyered, I knew exactly what things weren’t going to work, ”he chuckles.

Attorney: Working with a tripartite approach

The platform was developed with a vision to change the way people interact with and within the legal industry. Himanshu believes Lawyered solves the centuries-old challenges by creating an ecosystem that takes a tripartite approach in which:

  • Lawyers make themselves findable and accessible for those seeking legal advice; This closes the unfathomable gap.
  • provides a platform for lawyers to connect with and interact with in-house advisors to resolve their legal representation needs
  • solves the endless agony of law students regarding their need to connect with law firms for internships, job opportunities, networking, mentoring, learning, etc.

Unfortunately, although this was a challenging task given the microscopic penetration of technology in the legal world, the sector is still operating with its centuries-old and ancient mechanics. Most of the stakeholders felt very comfortable with it. Changing the way an entire industry works and interacts is a challenge that startups in this industry continue to face.

“However, with the newer generation of lawyers who are tech savvy themselves, it is much easier to convey and demonstrate the capabilities of our platform. But thanks to COVID-19, everyone around the world has understood the power of the digital, ”said Himanshu.

Today, Lawyered claims to have had over 200,000 monthly hits on its platform and has handled inquiries from over 50,000 startups, more than 10,000 companies and 100,000 individuals, helping them get easy access to legal counsel.

They were also part of India Accelerator’s second cohort program and to date have raised nearly $ 200,000 from investors in India, the US, the UK and Canada. With a team of 30 employees from four cities in the country, the platform receives inquiries from over 200 countries.

“With nearly 50,000 lawyers on our platform, we are now present in front of over 95 percent of the courts in India. This kind of foundation makes our position immutable, ”adds Himanshu.

“No direct competitors for us”

In the past few years, India has seen a growing number of legal tech players. These include PracticeLeague, LawRato, Presolve360, Legal Kart, Ipleaders, Lawyer24x, SoOLEGAL, Legal Salah and MikeLegal. However, Himanshu believes none of these are direct competitors for Lawyered.

“It’s like comparing Dunzo to Swiggy. We may have similar audiences and operations, but how we approach the problem and the actual market we are entering is very, very different, ”he explains.

Lawyer harnesses the power of technology and offers his clients (lawyers) e-discovery. The team is exploring all the ways a consumer can find lawyers (on the demand side) and working to ensure that their clients come first when they look up.

“We also offer consumer-centric solutions at nominal subscription fees while our“ competitors ”are largely working on a commission model that falls under advertising and advertising and which is in violation of certain regulations of the Indian Council of Lawyers.

To put it simply (at the expense of perhaps oversimplification), our “competitors” cook and feed their customers – but we are in the business of teaching how to cook. We are sure you will understand the rest, ”adds Himanshu.

Continue with Lawyered 2.0

Lawyered started out as a versatile platform with revenue generation only from its clients (i.e. lawyers). The other side is subsidized. For those looking for legal advice, the platform offers free offers, free appointment bookings, access around the clock, certified lawyers, 30 minutes of free advice and comprehensive support.

In the future, the company will work with its vision for Lawyered 2.0. The team now wants to gradually structure demand from reactive to proactive.

That is, instead of making consumers (i.e., legal counselors) wait to run into problems, the team is working to empower them to nip the legal problem in the bud, rather than end up in chaos.

“In our vision for Lawyered 2.0, we will also offer tailor-made solutions such as toolkits and on-demand services,” says Himanshu.

For the lawyers, the platform offers better opportunities to spread the rule of law, which indirectly leads to an influx of companies.

This allows them to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and expertise that potential clients can see, ubiquitous and universally accessible in both online and offline modes, and align them with the narrative to raise legal awareness through conversations and Strengthen content.

“India is the largest democracy in the world. With over 40 million pending cases in various courts, the need for legal intervention increases year on year. Furthermore, the legal sector is arguably the least diffused – so this field is full of opportunity and the future looks extremely promising. At least the way we see it! “Concludes Himanshu.

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