Ya’eesh Cader, the co-founder of Get Law, shares the story behind the online legal services tool.
Get Law is an online legal platform essentially seeking to disrupt traditional law services. We pooled together a network of freelance and self-employed attorneys to service clients digitally. The very nature of the business, which is completely online, allows pricing to be considerably lower than traditional law firms.
Also, as the co-founder of Get Law, as well as being a millennial, the entire platform together with our social media presence, we provide a unique service offering that is tailored to make law accessible to a wider client segment but also make it interesting and relevant at the same time.
My brother is an admitted attorney and I'm an experienced digital executive. Together, we came up with the concept to use lockdown as a springboard to launch something innovative in our respective fields.
We saw how other industries were adapting to the lockdown conditions and started to digitise their business offerings. Then together with our network of attorneys who were sitting at home unable to service clients or even conduct regular business, we decided to utilise what we have to create a platform that bridges the divide between affordable law for all, and an easily accessible medium to reach mass clients.
The concept was quite literally born out of lockdown, from initial concept to launch. Without lockdown, our very business appeal would have been lost as just another startup, but with the restrictions placed on society such as social distancing, we saw an opportunity to take advantage of the negative space we found ourselves in and create something positive and innovative.
We are primarily an online legal services platform.
Plugged into our platform, completely digitally, we have just over 10 freelance or self-employed attorneys. Each attorney has specific focus areas, and our network spans countrywide.We put the general public in contact with qualified and registered attorneys at a fraction of the cost of traditional law firms, due primarily to our digital nature.
Just as a traditional brick and mortar attorney would offer legal consultations or the drafting of complex contracts or agreements, we offer exactly the same thing via an e-commerce store.
‘Bite-sized’ and affordable legal consultations are something we saw an opportunity to create, hence the launch of innovative services like 15 minutes Whatsapp consultations. With the world shifting more to one of ‘micro-transactions’ (eg: fractional share ownership, insurance for a day etc), the need for traditional hour-long expensive legal consultations with surprise costs are a thing no longer relevant to an evolving consumer. We built our business products and services with this consumer in mind.
As with all employees working remotely, Zoom fatigue is something our attorneys have experienced. The blurred lines between traditional office hours and family time is not something new to online businesses, but one that our attorneys (who are accustomed to generic office hours) have had to adapt to.
As previously mentioned, our business was a result of the national lockdown so there was no impact. However, we had to make sure our offering was relevant. We also saw a huge number of people impacted by the knock-on effects of the lockdown, and this was something we could relate to. We, therefore, created our free legal advice service for those impacted by the coronavirus.
All they need do was apply the promo code online. We saw a huge take-up of this offer as it was shared numerous times on social media. The ability to help those affected is something each of our attorneys took to and embraced in this new normal.
The economic impact of Covi-19 has had far-reaching implications for all South Africans. The biggest challenge as a business is trying to manage the balance between paying clients, and those looking for help via the free legal assistance service.
Diaries of our attorneys have been filling up considerably over the last few weeks, but again, the opportunity to give back to society so fiercely impacted by the pandemic is something we as a business have embraced.We’ve since onboarded a few new attorneys to help manage the load. We are also inviting freelance attorneys interested in joining the platform to email us on az.oc.walteg@spihsrentrap.
With our free legal advice offer for those affected by Covid-19, we’ve seen more and more enquiries come through from women in disadvantaged communities.
The cases range from advice and guidance on government or private sector relief options to queries around legal recourse due to physical abuse by partners.On the flip side, there have been a number of business-related enquiries such as new business formations, enquiries around the legality of certain cost-saving initiatives in the private sector, and more.
What do you predict the next 6 months will be like?I believe the next six months will continue to be difficult for South Africans, particularly as the lockdown persists.
The increase in the number of abuse cases, as a result of lockdown, continues to be something that alarms local authorities. However, our team continues to be available to offer free legal advice to those impacted.On the business side, the impact of Covid-19 on traditional business will continue to see massive shifts. The digital transformation that has occurred in the last six months will only ramp up in the next six months as businesses become comfortable with operating within this new normal environment. The rise of e-commerce businesses offerings is something that each and every business should embrace. Ensuring your business model is ‘future-fit’ is now of critical importance.
As a team, as a business, we’re extremely grateful to have been able to use the lockdown to our benefit, rather than be decimated by its impacts, as so many businesses have been.
The ability to achieve something successful with the traction we’ve gained despite negative obstacles is something we believe should apply to each and every small business or budding entrepreneur.Even if you don’t have large amounts of capital to invest in a business, learning the basics of digital/online will help you compete nationally in the digital space.
In summary, one of our biggest lessons from all of this has been that no matter the obstacles, if you have a good business idea and are determined to make it a success, it is possible. Keep adapting, keep innovating, and always keep your client front of mind.
