Legal River – A Business Attorney Marketplace
A few months back I had the pleasure of meeting Reed Atkin, the young CEO and entrepreneur behind a start-up named Legal River. Like most online marketplaces the idea sounded splendid and in theory would be an enormously useful marketplace for both law firms looking for new clients and for businesses in need of legal help. Of course it takes more than simply building it in the hopes that “they will come”. It takes some momentum that can be turned into enough critical mass so visitors, whether buying or selling, will have a reasonably good first experience.
I’m happy to report that Legal River is making a lot of headway on their mission to build a robust online legal marketplace. They’ve had very positive press coverage from TechCrunch, The Washington Post, TechBIZNOW, and others. Lawyers are signing up in droves offering businesses a plethora of options for specific legal needs.
We’ve all heard the joke about lawyers and sinking cruise ships… well, this is even better! A marketplace where you post your legal issue and read responses from lawyers who are interested in working for you and believe that they are the right fit. The best part is you aren’t beholden to one attorney for every legal issue you encounter. You can choose to work with highly specialized attorneys increasing your chances of achieving a positive outcome.
How does it work? Attorneys can register for free in less than 10 minutes. Once registered legal issues submitted by businesses are viewable and if appropriate the business in need of legal help can send them a personalized response. (More info for lawyers)
Businesses can register for free and begin posting the legal issues they need help with within minutes as well. The marketplace has lawyers with expertise in every area imaginable and the best part is you can choose a lawyer from those that respond increasing the likelihood that you will retain a lawyer well-qualified to handle your need. (Post your legal issue)
They even have a section specifically for government contractors where you can access lawyers that specialize in government contracting, teaming agreements, Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), and 8(a) Certifications.
Here’s a very short video tutorial:
Visit them at: Legal River
