Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Friday, 17 August 2012
Instant Law & LawWorks Partner to increase access
Instant Law UK & Law Works the legal
Pro-Bono Charity have partnered to increase access to clients who fall outside
the Legal Aid Eligibility rules or who are not in a position to access or funds
representation.
LawWorks is a national charity which aims to provide free legal help through pro bono assistance to individuals and community groups who cannot afford to pay for it and who are unable to access legal aid.
In the last year LawWorks helped provide free legal advice to over 45,000 people and around 350 voluntary sector organisations. We work with just over 100 member law firms and teams of in-house counsel, as well as mediators, law students and solicitors who have been made redundant.
Instant Law
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
Direct Public Access- Can Lawyers deliver?
Direct
Public Access – Can lawyers deliver?
The legal regulatory bodies
have made it easier for both solicitors and barristers to engage directly with
members of the public to provide open and transparent services. Can, though,
the establishment make things even easier and overcome the inhibitions and
suspicions some of their prospective clients have about the legal profession?
Despite trying and, in some
cases, succeeding, to make it easier for lawyers to talk to ordinary folk there
does seem to remain a reluctance from Mr and Mrs Public to take their legal
problems to those best equipped to solve them.
For many, lawyers seem distant,
unapproachable, stuffy, judgemental, intimidating and, above all, expensive. Some lawyers,
though, have gone a long way to ensure that their websites are easily
accessible, their high street offices welcoming, their staff down-to-earth and
their prices reasonable; though these are in the minority, it seems. There are
also some lawyers who don’t want to have ordinary folk as their clients and
deliberately discriminate against them and market to the monied middle classes.
Solicitors can find it easier
to appeal to and accommodate direct public access clients. Their locations, business
plans, experience and general ease-of-use work in their favour. The Bar,
however, have a bigger problem. Their offices (or chambers as they will
continue to call them) are not, normally, found in that part of town members of
the general public frequent. Their tradition and experience is dealing with
professional clients. Many don’t have manned reception areas, have inadequate
waiting areas and insufficient conference rooms where private discussions can
take place. The Bar is also having problems coming to terms with the necessity
and mechanism of the ‘up-front’ payment direct public access necessarily
demands.
Naturally, the market responds
to these opportunities and challenges and there are a growing number of
entrepreneurial businesses trying to ensure that it’s as easy as possible for
members of the public to make contact with lawyers. These are, mainly,
web-based and offer on-line or telephone access to solicitors or barristers
with user-friendly and transparent pricing.
All of the above suffer from
the same inherent problem; it’s hard for members of the public to find them.
Solicitors’ offices and
barristers’ chambers can be hard to find and opening hours and
appointment-making might be inconvenient, especially during the working day
when it could be hard for a potential direct public access client to get out of
work. Some legal businesses are open on Saturday mornings though their,
normally, city centre locations can be equally inconvenient for a suburban or
country dweller.
Web sites make the search
easier, of course, though some degree of knowledge about what to enter into the
search engine is needed and, unless the site owner has worked on web
site-optimisation, it could be a long and fruitless search.
The easiest way to encourage
and allow members of the public to access and use legal services must, surely,
be to take those services to them in places they visit regularly or can get to
with.
Indeed, there are some
solicitors’ businesses who have a presence in public places such as shopping
centres and there are others who have dedicated, high street shop-fronts
looking more like a shop than a solicitors.
Taking this a logical step
further Instant Law are installing private, secure booths or working areas in
public libraries up and down the country so that members of the public can, at
their convenience and without an appointment, talk to a lawyer and get advice.
Using unique, state-of-the-art
video conferencing software and an easy to use, on-screen start page a member
of the public can see and speak to a lawyer and, at the end of a 20 or 30
minute, free, initial consultation, will know if they have a case which can be
progressed, what the next moves might be and, more importantly, how much it is
all liable to cost.
This service is becoming
increasingly popular with libraries and a growing number are incorporating it
in the wide range of public services they offer to their users.
This democratisation of direct
public access is, through public libraries, reaching a wide audience.
Birmingham Central Library, for example, has a foot-fall of about 4
million/year and the Paradise Shopping Centre, to which it is attached has a
foot-fall of 3 million/week.
Large conurbations, such as Manchester , Liverpool and Newcastle , have about a million people a year
using them. There are about 3500 public libraries in the country and they, like every other business, are looking for innovative ways
to encourage people to use them and their growing list of services.
Maybe initiatives like Instant
Law teaming up with public libraries is one way that the legal profession can
widen their appeal and offer members of the public services at their
convenience and on their terms?
Ian Dodd:
Before
joining Instant Law UK Ian spent six years running a major Chartered Surveying
business, which was an introduction to professional services and the last ten
years being a CEO in barristers' chambers and forming a start-up Alternative
Business Structure. Ian’s experience has given him a thorough understanding of
the legal profession
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Instant Law UK Launches In Islington
PRESS RELEASE
INSTANT LAW LAUNCHES
IN ISLINGTON CENTRAL LIBRARY
Instant Law UK is teaming up
with Islington Library and Heritage Services to launch Instant Law, the interactive,
online legal advice service which is being rolled out in an increasing number
of libraries throughout the country.
Library users will be able to get
free legal advice directly from specialist lawyers via secure
video-conferencing software. The dedicated computer screen will display an easy
to use menu to help customers select the
area of advice they need which will offer a range of subjects including
Immigration, Employment, Landlord & Tenant and Family as well as wide range
of other legal, consumer and related matters . This initial consultation of up
to 30 minutes is free to visitors to the library, who will be using unique,
easy-to-use software and video conference call facilities developed by Instant
Law UK .
Ian Dodd, Business Development
Director at Instant Law UK said, “People can
often find it difficult to fix a convenient appointment time to discuss their
problems and some find solicitors’ premises rather intimidating. Providing this
service through the library network overcomes these problems and provides a
professional advice service. We’re delighted to be launching our first library
terminal here in Islington in the heart of London .
Islington Library and Heritage Services has shown its commitment to innovation
with this move, and they join the initial six locations we have using the
system.”
Cllr Janet Burgess said: “We have nearly 1.5 million visits a
year to Islington’s libraries and we are committed to keeping our libraries
open and developing the range of services we offer to the public. We’re excited
to play host to the country’s first online legal service, which will give the
public a new alternative access to legal information and advice.”
Instant Law’s free service is
supported by people who go on to get paid for legal advice. This is delivered by
local lawyers so that if face-to-face meetings are required library customers
won’t have to travel far.
……………ends…………………
For further information contact John Smith on 020 7527 6922
or atjohn.smith@islington.gov.uk
Thursday, 19 July 2012
“This service is invaluable".
PRESS RELEASE
INSTANT LAW UK
partners with GREENWICH CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU to Launch a FREE video
conferencing legal advice service from 13th August 2012.
Instant
Law UK
is teaming up with (Greenwich Citizens Advice Bureaux Ltd) to launch Instant
Law, the interactive, online legal
advice service which is being rolled out in an increasing number of libraries
throughout the country.
Citizen
Advice Bureau users and staff will be able to get free legal advice directly
from specialist lawyers via secure video-conferencing software. The dedicated
computer screen will display an easy to use menu to help customers select the area of advice they need which
will offer a range of subjects including Immigration, Employment, Landlord
& Tenant and Family as well as wide range of other legal, consumer and
related matters . This initial consultation is free to visitors to the library,
who will be using unique, easy-to-use software and video conference call
facilities developed by Instant Law UK .
Ian
Dodd, Business Development Director at Instant Law UK said, “People can often find it
difficult to fix a convenient appointment time to discuss their problems and
some find solicitors’ premises rather intimidating. Providing this service in
partnership with Greenwich Citizens Advice Bureau overcomes these problems and
provides a professional advice service. We’re delighted to be partnering with
Greenwich Citizens Advice has shown itself to be ground-breakingly innovative
with this move and they join the other six locations we have using the system.”
(A quote From Traci Jenkins) – “This service is invaluable.
These are challenging times where our local communities are facing ever
increasing difficulties accessing free, quality legal advice. I am confident
that this service will not only be an asset to the Greenwich Citizens Advice Bureaux, but will
provide an alternative route for those in need of specialist legal advice”
Instant
Law’s UK
free service will be supported by on-going legal advice
delivered by local lawyers so that if face-to-face meetings are required users
won’t have to travel far.
……………ends…………………
Traci
Jenkins Greenwich Citizens Advice Bureaux Ltd : 0208 855 7472
Thursday, 28 June 2012
Free Video Conf Legal Advice for Home Users
Home Users
& Business:
FREE video conferencing LEGAL ADVICE TRIAL
Following the Instant Law UK launch of its free video conferencing service in partnership with library services, we are now seeking to run a 2 months trial with Home users and SME.
The service will allow the service to be accessed from the users home or office. The users will access free face to face legal advice from solicitors, covering a range of legal subjects, including family, landlord & Tenant, Immigration, Employment, Business advice.
The service will start from 10.00am Monday 23rdth July 2012.
To access the service simply visit www.instant-law.co.uk and register.
On registration the user will be able to access the service immediately.
The aim of the trial is to test the use of technology and how we can use it to open up access.
We only ask that user of the system provide us with feedback, allowing us to improve the service.
For further information contact:
Friday, 15 June 2012
Brent Library Services extends solicitor led free legal advice service
Free
interactive online legal service now available for Brent’s library users
Interactive online legal advice is now available at
the Town Hall Library after Brent Council teamed up with Instant Law UK to launch
the free service to library users.
Instant Law, which started on Friday (15 June),
offers library users free legal advice directly from specialist lawyers via
secure video-conferencing software. The dedicated computer screen will display
an easy-to-use menu to help customers
select the area of advice they need including advice around immigration,
employment, landlord and tenant, family, and consumer law and related matters .
The initial consultation is free to visitors to the library, who will be using
unique, easy-to-use software and video conference call facilities developed by
Instant Law UK.
Instant Law will be available at the Town Hall
Library from 10am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday. The Town Hall Library is based in
Brent Town Hall, Forty Lane, Wembley.
Ian Dodd, Business Development Director at Instant
Law UK, said: “People can often find it difficult to fix a convenient
appointment time to discuss their problems and some find solicitors’ premises
rather intimidating. Providing this service through the library network
overcomes these problems and provides a professional advice service. We’re
delighted to be launching our first library terminal here in the heart of
London. Brent Council’s library service has shown itself to be innovative with
this move and they join the other six locations we have using the system.”
Councillor James Powney,
Brent Council’s Lead Member for Environment and Neighbourhood Services, said: “Instant Law is an innovative addition to the range
of services which Brent’s libraries offer the borough’s library users and
residents and we’re excited to play host to this online legal service, which
will help to improve residents’ access to legal information and advice. Not
only are Brent’s libraries are now open seven days a week, but they’re
continually improving their offer to users.”
Instant Law’s free service will be supported by ongoing
legal advice delivered by local lawyers so that if face-to-face meetings are
required library customers won’t have to travel far.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
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