Some small businesses wishing to cut down on solicitors’ fees have in the past and are still, using legal document templates, widely available online, to manage a range of affairs, from health and safety to employment matters. In the current difficult economic climate, cost savings are being sought from all angles and the legal sector is not immune to this wave of belt-tightening.
But the growth of online legal template services is not necessarily a threat to law firms or their business models. Although companies can rely on professionally written templates for many types of documentation, they will still need to seek legal help for any bespoke work or where certain contracts are simply too complex or unique to take advantage of a template approach. Some SMEs will start out with document templates but later decide to make an array of changes which will require a solicitor to check any new clauses are correctly drafted, do not clash with other clauses and don’t dilute the overall effect of any document.
So, law firms do not need to fear the emergence of DIY law, as long as they focus on the more high-level aspects of legal service provision. Furthermore, firms can actually harness the power of online legal document libraries by making use of the wide range of highly specialised documents as templates for their own clients. Instead of spending valuable fee earning time drafting documentation from scratch, solicitors can find a relevant template which has already been professionally written, make any necessary amendments and tailor it to fit with client requirements. In this way, firms can make their own savings in terms of time which can be more productively used in other areas.
Specialist law firms may sometimes have requests from their clients relating to other areas of law. Instead of referring the client to another firm to deal with the matter, or sourcing expensive sets of legal precedents, access to a broad range of templates is a cost effective way of helping client retention.
One of the most well established providers of legal documents in the UK is Simply-Docs, which has over 2,600 individual documents available, mainly geared towards small and medium sized businesses. 1,250 law firms already use the trusted service which has been growing since it was founded in 2003. Explaining how templates can benefit solicitors, Simply-Docs Managing Director, Iain Mackintosh, says:
We have spent many years building a comprehensive portfolio of legal document templates which is constantly updated by our legal content writer: This team comprises experienced solicitors, HR and Health & Safety professionals. Because our business is entirely focused on creating and updating these documents, law firms can rely on us as a resource and spend their time on client matters rather than drafting documents.
For more information on the Simply-Docs service (from £35 + VAT/year) and to view the documents available visit www.simply-docs.co.uk or give them a call on 020 8878 7236.
This article was submitted by Alex Heshmaty; a legal technology specialist and freelance writer.