Our founder, Marianne, recently caught up with The Legal Forecast to talk about Legalite. Check out the excerpt below or click here to read the full interview!
“Tell us about Legalite and your vision for your organisation.
I founded Legalite in 2017 with one key goal in mind – to simplify the provision of legal services. Many people find dealing with lawyers to be intimidating, confusing and often expensive. I want clients to feel that legal assistance is accessible and to feel comfortable dealing with their lawyer from the start of a matter until finish.
Legalite adopts a fixed fee pricing model which provides certainty and transparency for our clients. Unlike most law firms, we do not and never will have hourly rates (which, in my view, reward inefficiency and do not enable clients to have trust in the relationship).
In the first 5 months of trade, Legalite has already experienced rapid growth, which confirms my belief that clients are looking for something ‘more’ from their lawyers and are becoming less willing to accept the old way of doing things. My focus is on ensuring that Legalite’s offering provides a clear alternative to that offered by traditional law firms. Ultimately, with continued growth, I hope to expand the firm into other areas of specialty.
What makes the legal experience different for start-ups and how do you engage with this group of clients?
New entrepreneurs are often (and understandably) quite time and cash poor, so it’s important to be able to engage with them in a way that fits seamlessly into their busy lives.
Legalite offers a fixed fee monthly retainer which includes unlimited legal advice and support and a business health check to point startups and other business owners in the right direction. This retainer works well for startups or those who prefer to “DIY” some of the more commercial aspects of their contracts, but also want the comfort of knowing that they’re on the right track and are protected from a legal perspective.
With the vast majority of startup owners being Millennials/Gen Y’s, there is a widespread expectation that legal advice be available at their fingertips or at the click of a button, so being flexible and adaptable is important. I am often Skyping, video conferencing or texting with my clients and also enjoy interacting with them on social media.”