Potential litigants may be confused over what kind of lawyer to approach or where to approach them.
Senior advocate Ravivarma Kumar resigned as Advocate General here on Monday, reportedly over the state government's decision to appoint two Additional Advocate Generals without consulting him
Chennai: Nearly 6 lakh cases were settled in a day at the national Lok Adalat on Saturday, but these were also cases that had dragged on for years together without any progress. While delayed cases are one problem, for many potential clients the issue starts right from the beginning as they try to find a good lawyer. This might soon become a thing of the past as an increasing number of people is choosing to find lawyers through online legal advice portals.
Potential litigants may be confused over what kind of lawyer to approach or where to approach them. They might worry about lawyers over-charging them or simply stress out on whether or not a lawyer would be able to understand the case fully.
Such people can now go online and look up a range of lawyers whose details are displayed and take their pick. Within the confines of their own homes, the clients can chat with their lawyers and get all their queries sorted out.
Kavya K, a young lawyer said that she chose to work in online legal consulting because she feels it is the easiest way to connect to clients. “Till I became a lawyer, no one in my family knew how or where to reach a lawyer, which is true for many families. This way is easier for the common man, including young entrepreneurs or start-ups to get all their legal advice and also get their documents done. Otherwise they don’t know whether to go to a chartered accountant or a lawyer or a government office, whereas here they are assured of all knowledge and transparency,” she explained.
The average age of lawyers at a popular online legal consultancy was 30- 45, reflecting the fact only young lawyers prefer this medium. However, Hrishikesh Datar, founder of India’s first online legal service, Vakilsearch, said that more and more lawyers today understand the reach the Internet has with people.
“Unlike the general assumption, advocates do want to adapt to new things but they do have their own queries and we try and address them as much as possible,” he said.
Datar added that lawyers usually ask if they can charge only a standard fee or if they would also be able to handle their own appointments. Datar assures the lawyers that they can choose their fee and also set their own appointments. While Kavya and other young lawyers believe that the online platform is the next big thing for legal services in India, there are also those who believe that, for now, only online legal advice is feasible. R. Saravanan, Kumar and Bhasker advocates said, “It is good for people to meet advocates online especially when one does not want to approach a known advocate for personal reasons, but when it comes to full services I think that will take time to happen. For now, getting advice seems like a good facility.”
Acknowledging that there was a sudden increase in the number of online legal advice portals, an advocate and a member of the Women Lawyers Association said that she herself wasn’t too tech savvy and did not know many colleagues who would prefer the medium.
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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