Need a lawyer? Try DynamicLawyers.com
As part of Sync’s “5 Questions,” a regular feature in this space that shines a spotlight on a new Canadian product or website, here we chat with Michael Carabash from DynamicLawyers.com.
You use the Internet for virtually everything these days — shopping, information, entertainment, commnication — so why not find a lawyer via cyberspace? Should you need one, the following is a chat with DynamicLawyers.com’s president Michael Carabash, B.A., LL.B., M.B.A. Feel free to tell us what you think by posting a comment or asking a question.
Sync: What is DynamicLawyers.com?
Michael Carabash: I am a Toronto business lawyer and I launched DynamicLawyers.com last November to help improve access to justice for everyday people. DynamicLawyers.com strives to do so by providing answers and some predictability over the costs of legal services: users can freely and anonymously make a post of their legal issue(s) and have local lawyers provide answers and compete for the work. The website also provides free legal information to help educate and engage the broader legal community through the DL Blog, Free Legal Guides, Statistics and Reports, and affiliation with other website (e.g. Legalline.ca, AdviceScene.com, Duhaime.org, IsThatLegal.ca, etc.). Finally, the website promotes preventative law through an innovative (and first of its kind) Free Legal Checkup. By answering a series of questions about common legal areas, you’ll get an instant score and gain valuable insight into your legal health (the idea is to prevent legal surprises from happening in the future). All of this is part of a larger movement to help democratize the law.
Sync: Please walk us through how the process works from start to finish.
M.C.: Here is a video I developed a few months back to show people how to make a post of their legal issue(s) and get free information and quotes from local lawyers. I also prepared a .pdf document which shows that process from start to finish. Here is another video I developed to show people how the Free Legal Checkup works.
Sync: How is this process better than traditional ways of seeking legal help?
M.C.: Most people use word-of-mouth referrals to find a lawyer. But you don’t want to have the lawyer who drafted your parents’ Will or acted on your friend’s house deal to represent you in family court, do you? Alternatively, turning to the largest ad in the Yellow Pages doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be getting the right lawyer (but perhaps a more expensive one – as your fees will need to offset the cost of that ad!). So what about the Law Society of Upper Canada? Well, their Lawyer Referral Service charges users $6 for a 30-minute conversation with only one lawyer. So first you need to get them on the phone and then you need to quickly explain your matter while watching the clock!. Finally, simply walking off the street and into a lawyer’s office may end up costing you an arm and a legal in initial consultation fees. We published a report after interviewing 500 Toronto lawyers about their legal fees. That report found that the average initial consultation fee was $348 – ouch! Overall, DynamicLawyers.com is superior to these traditional ways of seeking legal help because it allows users to freely and anonymously find the right local lawyer practicing in the area of law required. Posts stay on the website for up to 45 days and users are capable of getting as much information and quotes from competing lawyers before making any decisions.
Sync: If it’s free to the consumer, what’s the business model?
M.C..: DynamicLawyers.com charges lawyers a modest monthly fee of $50 to register. We also give lawyers a 30 day free trial period to see how the website works. It usually takes just one user to hire a lawyer for that lawyer to make back their investment for an entire year or longer.
Sync: Finally, what’s your plans for expansion?
M.C.: In the near future, we will continue to build our Free Legal Guides database, expand DynamicLawyers.com’s existing services across Canada (we are currently expanding throughout Ontario), and publish books on popular Canadian legal topics. In the distant future, we plan to have our own magazine, lawyer directory, and do-it-yourself legal forms with video guides. Our goal has been and will always be to educate Canadians about the law while allowing them to conveniently and cost-effectively access lawyers and legal services by leveraging technology.
Filed Under: Computing > Wireless
Tags: advice, canada, find, free, help, law, lawyer, legal, paralegla, quote, service, toronto, website