What Is a Legal Services Marketplace?
A legal services marketplace is an online platform that makes it easier to secure legal talent and hire professionals on a temporary or permanent basis for your needs.
You can post on a job board to receive bids from an on-demand attorney and a freelance contract lawyer who can assist in matters such as business formation, compliance review, employment contract review, drafting a living will, writing terms and conditions, and much more.
If you are a lawyer, then a legal services marketplace offers digital networking solutions that can lead to an expanded market of clients and customers.
Unlike legal software that you must host on your own computer, you can access the marketplace from anywhere in the world as long as you have a stable internet connection.
You can leverage skills and products to your customers by answering postings on a job board, and easily advertise your services to people actively seeking them.
Here is an article that defines marketplace and the history of the service.
What Does a Marketplace for Legal Services Do?
A legal services marketplace allows individuals to learn more about types of contracts and legal documents and also seek out professional legal advice from experienced lawyers. They can use a job board to post about projects they have, then get bids from attorneys willing to work on them.
The marketplace makes it easier for potential clients to get straightforward quotes on legal services. This saves them and busy lawyers time from lengthy consultations or repeated inquiries.
Some of the services you may use a legal marketplace for include:
- Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating business contracts, such as a noncompete agreement or an employment contract
- Finding affordable legal services for your personal or professional needs
- Writing a detailed privacy policy for your business that is legally compliant
- Drafting a lease agreement for your rental property that is easily reusable
- Obtaining a formal copyright or trademark for intellectual property
- Drafting a terms and conditions agreement for your business
- Drafting a living will or estate planning
- Writing and officiating a prenuptial agreement based on your state’s laws
There are all types of lawyers available online, though you’ll find legal service marketplaces tend to have a high volume of business attorneys. Their primary role is to draft, review, and finalize contracts related to every aspect of running a business.
That being said, you can still find other types of lawyers on a legal platform that can help you manage issues related to divorce, personal injury, finances, taxes, family law, and more.
Here is an article with more details on how to know when to hire a lawyer.
Why Use a Marketplace for Legal Services?
You can look for lawyers online, make personal inquiries about their services, and get individual prices for their services. However, this can be a rather lengthy process that not everyone has the time to do.
Instead of comparing, contrasting, and screening lawyers yourself, you can use a marketplace to get the most affordable services. Rather than spend hours upon hours searching for and interviewing lawyers, you can post a description of your needs and get estimates from multiple attorneys near you.
In some cases, you may not even be 100% certain what type of legal services you require. Perhaps you are starting a business and seeking general startup legal advice; or you could be reviewing job offers and wondering if an employment agreement you’ve been given is legally valid.
Even those looking to negotiate the terms and conditions in a contract can benefit from working with an attorney.
Here is an article with several major benefits of hiring a lawyer for employees.
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How Do I Find a Lawyer on a Marketplace for Legal Services?
Marketplaces can all look slightly different, but the general structure allows clients to search for lawyers by state or to post a project on the marketplace to receive bids. On ContractsCounsel, you can search for lawyers by state, by focus, or by services.
You can also review popular queries, like SaaS agreement pricing or business contract pricing, to review the average cost of these services in your state. Then, you can look for lawyers that provide services you need. There are even lawyers to help you set up an LLC.
When reviewing a lawyer’s profile on ContractsCounsel, you can see how much they charge per hour, their years of experience, and a biography. The ability to review an attorney’s profile and learn about their experience, focus, and rates makes it far easier to identify the right one for your needs.
Users can request free quotes from any lawyer on the marketplace, but they can also post a project and receive bids from multiple attorneys instead.
If you are unsure of which services you need or what to request from a lawyer, a quality legal services marketplace will have plenty of free resources to help you. ContractsCounsel offers guides on all sorts of legal contracts, as well as guides to legal pricing, and legal projects by state.
Advantages of Using a Marketplace for Legal Services
There are several benefits to using online legal services for your needs.
- High efficiency. Marketplaces make it easier for both clients and lawyers to work together. You can easily review lawyers, find attorneys by specialty or project, and connect with a lawyer quickly without any need to make phone calls or write emails.
- Cost-effective. Posting a job on a legal marketplace doesn’t cost anything; you can review free bids from lawyers, then decide which one has the best rates for your budget. You can also learn about the average cost of certain contracts and legal services, so you can ensure you’re paying the fairest price for any attorney.
- Greater selection. There are many lawyers available on a marketplace that you may not come across just by searching online. Using a marketplace for legal services makes it easier for you to find attorneys across a wide field of specializations in one place.
- Security. Good legal marketplaces will always screen their lawyers. ContractsCounsel’s attorneys are fully vetted and peer-reviewed, so you can trust that they are qualified professionals capable of handling your case with the utmost professionalism and discretion.
If you are a lawyer, joining a marketplace makes it easier to expand your firm and network with other professionals. You can build a diverse team from a community of global legal professionals from various backgrounds.
Using a marketplace as a lawyer also makes it easier to find work, while giving you complete control over the types of clients you take on and the cases you work.
How Much Does It Cost to Use Services for a Legal Marketplace?
The price of using a legal marketplace varies depending on your state and the type of project you have. On average, legal services on a marketplace cost $50 to $1,000. There are also different ways of paying an attorney.
There is a statutory rate, which is the maximum amount a lawyer can charge someone for their services. You could also pay a flat fee for services, hourly, or a contingency fee, in which pricing is determined by the final outcome of a project.
Here is an article with ContractsCounsel’s guide on average lawyer cost by state.
Post a project in ContractsCounsel’s marketplace to receive flat fee bids from lawyers for your project. All lawyers have been vetted by our team and peer-reviewed by our customers for you to explore before hiring.
