AccessSolicitor, the fast-growing UK online legal directory, recently announced that it had joined just a handful of legal comparison websites in the UK to have achieved the ‘self-regulatory’ standards of the Legal Services Board.
According to AccessSolicitor, the company successfully made its case to the legal regulators at a roundtable in March 2014 hosted by the Legal Services Board and the Legal Services Consumer Panel.
The Legal Services Consumer Panel was established to provide independent advice to the Legal Services Board, the independent body responsible for overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England, about the interests of consumers of legal services.
In 2012, the Legal Services Consumer Panel published a report on comparisons websites in the legal sector and developed a set of good practice standards.
The latest news comes after a busy year for the startup.
In December 2013, AccessSolicitor partnered with the legal education program Lawyers in Schools to provide pro-bono marketing support to help the organization reach firms and businesses.
And in October 2013, Access Solicitor joined up with the University of Westminster Law School to develop a new algorithm technology that will recommend the best lawyer for a customer’s needs.
The AccessSoclitor website underwent a makeover and relaunched with a new design in August 2013.
AccessSolicitor currently features almost 14,000 UK-based legal professionals.
As well as solicitors, the site lists direct access barristers, legal executives, licensed conveyancers, and probate practitioners.
The site enables consumers and businesses to find lawyers in the UK using criteria such as specialization and location.
As well as the directory component, a series of legal guides covering subjects such as immigration and employment aims to educate consumers and small businesses about how to find a lawyer.
It is free to use for consumers and small businesses.
The business was founded by Warren Smith, who started out practicing technology law at Denton Wilde Sapte, before working in-house in the media industry.
AccessSolicitor is backed by several investors and venture capitalists.
[…] May 2014 – AccessSolicitor became one of just a handful of legal comparison websites in the UK to achieve the Legal Services Board’s “self-regulatory” standards […]