The Future of the GLSA: Charting a New Course – Part IV
In our fourth installment of our weekly series on the future of the GLSA, we will hear from attorney Chuong Bui, of Counsel for Creators, a subscription-based law firm based in California. Chuong is a new panelist on the State of the Industry Panel, featured last month in Law Technology Today.
What is the single most important change to the legal profession that must happen to improve access to justice or legal services?
Chuong: The profession must be willing to experiment with new business models and offerings. Legal help must be “productized” in a way that gives consumers a focused solution to a particular legal problem. Lawyers need to think beyond simply offering services and consider how their expertise can be leveraged in a variety of ways.
Beyond that, serious changes to various ethical rules must be considered. As of this writing, lawyers are completely forbidden from using many of the tools that other startups use to grow. For instance, they cannot raise capital from non-attorneys, which leaves the whole sector underinvested. This is a huge problem that throttles innovation.
How does your firm improve access to justice?
Chuong: We have been able to help hundreds of small businesses who need straightforward legal guidance but don’t want to deal with the trouble and expense of hiring a traditional attorney. Many of our clients have hired us for just $95 per month and received proper legal direction that would have taken hundreds or even thousands of dollars in the past.
How can attorneys make more money using your company or plan?
Chuong: Right now, our company works only with a limited number of attorneys as we ensure that our product is robust. In the future, we will provide opportunities for attorneys with specific subject-matter expertise to make consistent income without having to deal with any of the administrative overhead. Additionally, as the law firm with the longest-running legal subscription program, we are uniquely positioned to help other firms implement this model successfully.
If you are interested in hearing more from the State of the Industry Panel, participating in charting GLSA’s new course workshops, and learning more about how legal and subscription-based plans can help your practice, attend the Tampa Bay conference this May 9th to 11th more information available here. Registration is open now and there are limited tickets here.