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Help Fill the American “Justice Gap”

Jessie Hoerman Feb 06, 2020
person searching for legal assistance online

Expectations vs. Reality

Today, more than half of legal searches begin, and end, with an online search. The legal consumer expects that an online search will result in a list of the best, most qualified lawyers from which to choose. In reality, a “top-ranking lawyer” is decided by a mathematical equation that takes into account user experience on a website rather than legal experience or qualifications.

This disconnect between user expectations and the reality of online searches often leads to consumer frustration and places unnecessary impediments in the way of justice.

So, how does a legal technology product fill this gap?

Your law firm may not be able to help with health care, veterans’ benefits, disability access, immigration and housing condition issues. But, there are lawyers and legal clinics out there that can, and you can help direct legal consumers visiting your website to the right legal assistance.

What if every lawyer could hire a single staff member that knew the right criteria-based questions to ask initially in order to determine which lawyer or legal clinic could help? What if this member of your law firm could sort through these legal issues and instantly direct the legal visitor to the right legal assistance?

SimplyConvert built an “all-knowing” chat bot purposefully. We did so because we believe our entire SimplyConvert community of lawyers can be part of the solution to the American justice gap.

In 2017, 86% of the civil legal problems reported by low-income Americans received inadequate or no legal help. If every law firm in the country took a tiny step to being part of the solution, simply by directing local Americans to the right lawyer or clinic, we could make a change.

How can you help?

It's easy -- just use SimplyConvert because it makes sense for your business. But, secondarily, if you know of a legal clinic or lawyer that is making a difference for ordinary Americans, let us know so we can make them part of our SimplyConvert community – free of charge.

Sources:
Legal Services Corporation, Justice Gap 2017

Clio 2019 Legal Trends Report