Society and businesses are both steadily moving online, and you can rest assured that legal representatives and companies are doing the same. Online legal services are attractive for all lines of businesses, especially small businesses, as they do not need expensive legal protection.
However, the services these online platforms provide are not the same as the services an attorney will provide – hence the significantly lower cost! Pros aside, there are also various cons to consider when speaking of online legal services.
A lot of small and even medium-sized businesses are requesting the services of online legal services because of their low cost – and some of them really are dirt cheap!
But, online legal services don’t render the same services as brick-and-mortar ones do.
One wrong move – and your whole business may go “Kaput”!
So, before going for any online legal service, make sure that you weigh the pros and cons – two key aspects we detail below.
What are Online Legal Services?
Online legal services enable business owners to present their necessities to a legal representative online, which can be done in an hour’s time, if not minutes.
These services offer a variety of business-related legal services, such as trademark, copyright, and patent filings.
The way these websites charge for their services is via a subscription model where business owners pay a monthly rate to render the services of an online legal representative.
Online attorneys offer another payment option, and that is where you pay the attorney only for the service that is rendered, or pay-per-service.
The Pros of Using Online Legal Services
We will now look at some of what we consider to be the pros of using online legal services.
They are Cheap and Affordable
So, you have opened up a new business and managed to put some cash on the side to launch it. Now, you need to secure that cash from a legal perspective. Luckily, online legal services offer that option without owners having to spend a small fortune on their small business. There are a lot of features these websites provide, including LLC filing forms.
Online legal services are becoming more popular among small enterprises, mostly due to the fact that they do not have that many legal demands.
Online Legal Services are Flexible
The purpose of getting everything online is a matter of accessibility. Everything that is on the “web” is instantly accessible – and that includes online legal services.
These services are more in compliance with their clientele than the traditional ones – and that might just be what small business owners are looking for.
It is possible to satisfy the needs of business in an instant and even plan meetings online, with the advice being quick and to the point.
Excellent Means for Those Willing to Prepare Their Own Legal Documents
For businesses willing to arrange their own legal papers, online legal services are the perfect fit. These platforms provide a substantial amount of materials and guidance that meet the basic legal requirements. Besides the neat interface, the materials these services provide to the clients are in the form of customer service.
The Cons of Using Online Legal Services
Next, some of the cons of using online legal services.
Online Legal Services are Not Licensed to Practise Law
The advice that online legal services provide to customers is not legitimate legal advice. As such, it should not be taken as a substitute for the legal advice an attorney will provide.
You can find this on the disclaimer section of almost every online legal service website.
That said, you will not get the traditional attorney-client relationship. These platforms only provide templates, fillings, and guidelines for your legal demands.
Online Legal Services are Not a Substitute for Traditional Legal Advice
Online legal services provide business owners only with short-term help and small legal matters. They are rarely a replacement for traditional legal representatives. So, if you would like an effective solution for your business’s legal matter, you should definitely go for an attorney or a team of established legal professionals.
Depending on your and your business’s demands, the services these online platforms provide may or may not work for you. Countless businesses do not require a lot of legal advice, so it is more practical and cost-efficient for them to render services from online legal services.
However, huge corporations that have a larger demand for legal services might choose to invest in conventional law firms that provide exceptional client-attorney privileges.
Online Legal Services are Definitely Not the Future of Legal Services
Because these services are not a legal authority, most firms seeking a genuine solution to their legal issues cannot utilize them. In the future, legal services should include both cheaper and more flexible alternatives as well as organizations permitted to give true legal assistance.
Final Say on the Matter
Online legal services are a great alternative for business owners that do not have the funds to spend on traditional legal companies. They provide templates and guidelines for almost every legal matter (such as LLCs and copyrights) and help you neatly fill in all of your desired documents with little-to-no legal assistance.
If you are the owner of a major corporation or a large enterprise, you will almost definitely be subject to a slew of regulatory and legal obligations. In this circumstance, it would be prudent to retain the services of a typical brick-and-mortar law office.
To sum it up, we would say that online legal services are an excellent choice for small businesses. But as your business evolves into a corporation (maybe even a unicorn, who knows), rendering services from a traditional legal firm will be inevitable. We hope that you found this article helpful and we wish you the best of luck in all of your future business endeavors.
