Legal help, one click away: Here’s the app you need

Express News Service

HYDERABAD:  To make access to legal counsel easier is a startup called SoOLEGAL, which says that it is helping citizens and companies connect with lawyers and law firms.

The platform says it has more than 80,000 lawyers of which 2,000 are listed from Hyderabad. “We receive approximately 50 queries/cases per day from or related to Hyderabad,” shares Manish Kaul, COO, SoOLEGAL.

They provide services such as judgment synopsis, legal research, legal document translation, legal notice formats making the legal procedure easy for citizens.

Fees range anywhere between Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 lakh and above depending on the lawyer’s experience, skillset, reputation, and area of practice. “The assistance is not limited to civil and criminal, but across all practice areas.

Clients start with legal consultation and can continue with the same lawyer for filing or responding to a lawsuit and appear in courts, during the course of the trial,” adds Manish. 

According to a study on access to justice in India done by non-profit organisation Daksh a few years back, it was found that 70% of those who faced disputes in the past five years approached the courts for justice, but the formal judicial system is still not the most preferred form of conflict redressal for most Indians.

According to the report, most Indians consider the legal system to be complex and expensive. How does SoOLEGAL make it less cumbersome?

Manish replies: “Tech can help provide citizens easy and fast access to legal information thus not only empowering citizens but also removing negative perceptions about law and the legal process, being cumbersome, troublesome, and expensive.

They can get faster and more effective legal counsel and adopt the legal process instead of avoiding them.”
The company recently raised $4 million in a funding round led by private investors and family offices in India. The app which was launched three years ago is currently available only on Android, with an iOS rollout expected soon. 

Cases seeking most lawyers

• Divorce, alimony, and other family discords along with a spike in domestic violence (lockdown induced)
• Employment termination (lockdown induced)
• Cybercrimes
• Debt realisation
• Force Majeure clause by companies (during lockdown)
• Bail and criminal Matters
• Consumer issues
• Dispute resolution
• Forgery and fraud
• Traffic violations