Legal Guidance: Service or Product?
Attorneys generally think of themselves as selling a service, not a product. But in the era of digitization and automation, it now makes more sense for some lawyers to “productize” their services, i.e., convert their services into products.
The trend toward legal service productization is due to several factors. Delivery of legal services is generally becoming more price-competitive, with higher customer demand for alternative billing arrangements such as flat-fee work. The public can also now choose from alternative tech-based options for certain legal tasks, such as LegalZoom.
This presents an opportunity for the legal industry. Attorneys who embrace the trend toward productization can cost-effectively deliver certain legal services, while also making proper legal guidance more accessible to the masses. In fact, the ability to effectively productize legal services could be the key to future success.
So what exactly is legal service productization? What types of legal services are appropriate for productization, and how would it be done? And what types of technological solutions are needed for the process? We examine these questions below.
What is Legal Service Productization?
Legal service productization is the conversion of a legal service into a standardized product that can be sold broadly to the public or businesses. A prime example of a common legal product is a simple will, which can be purchased from LegalZoom or other providers. By simply inputting the appropriate information, the customer can receive a legally binding last will and testament which will serve their basic needs. This also saves them the time, trouble and expense of consulting with and retaining an attorney.
A more sophisticated example of productized services is offered by Littler, the global employment and labor law practice, and its Littler CaseSmart (LCS) platform. With the LCS platform, institutional clients have a secure, web-based dashboard that provides real-time tracking of each legal matter the company is involved in. In addition to updated status, documents and deadlines for each matter, the platform also provides reporting on long-term litigation trends.
Legal service productization has many advantages over traditional legal services. In addition to ease and convenience, the customers receive predictability in their spending - no more haggling over billable hours. Productized legal services also tend to be less expensive, opening up legal access for more of the population.
What Types of Legal Services Can be Productized?
The best candidates for productization are legal services that can be standardized and automated. In addition to the LegalZoom will, noted above, many other legal services fit the bill - non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), employee handbooks, confidentiality agreements, and issuance of shares are just a few examples.
The key is that the productized services can meet the needs of a wide range of clients by making basic legal documents affordable and easily accessible with quick, if not immediate, turnaround times.
How Does an Attorney Productize Her Services?
Once an attorney or firm has decided on the legal services to productize, the next question is how to get it done.
1. Determine How You Will Build Your Product
Unless an attorney moonlights as a software developer, they will face the question of how their new legal product will be built. Some firms may actually need to hire software developers for certain productized services. Perhaps the product uses cutting-edge technology, such as cryptocurrency transactions. Or the product may need to integrate with other niche software, such as a public records application programming interface (API). In these types of cases, a software developer may be necessary for their expertise and ability to write custom code.
For most productized legal services, however, retaining a software developer is overkill. A simpler option would be building the product on a no-code software development platform. The firm could use that platform to build web-based forms, for example. These forms would then be placed on the firm’s website, and customers could complete the forms to create legal documents.
2. Select the Building Blocks of Your Product
Most productized legal services will contain some essential building blocks. The first is the method of collecting information from the customer. Online forms are the most basic tool here, where a questionnaire collects responses from the user.
Then comes document assembly, where the legal document is created based on the information provided by the user. The information can be used to create one or more documents. The document may be directed to different places after creation. For example, the customer might download the document or receive it in an email as an attachment.
The product may also require a database if the customer information needs to be stored, edited, or reused at any time. A customer portal is another common element, usually in the form of a website where the customer can login to securely access their data.
3. Decide on the Pricing for Your Product
There are multiple pricing options for productized legal services. The simplest option would generally be the per-transaction flat fee, such as a set price for each NDA created. A firm could also create price tiers for different levels of service.
Some lawyers are even offering subscription services for their “products.” This arrangement allows lawyers to make their services more affordable for smaller clients, by avoiding the large up-front fee. The subscription payments can also serve as an excellent additional revenue stream for the firm.
What Tech is Needed for Legal Service Productization?
The specific technology for productized services will vary from case to case. However, the following are some common elements.
Client Intake: The attorney or firm will need technology to conduct the client intake process, which will include collection of the user-provided information.
Digital Payments: The customer needs the ability to make digital payments, whether those are one-time fees or recurring subscription payments.
Product Creation and Delivery: Based on client intake information, the technology must be able to assemble the document and deliver it to the client in a satisfactory manner, such as storage or download.
The trend towards the productization of legal services is not going anywhere soon; on the contrary, it is quickly gaining momentum with firms of all sizes, as it gains popularity with consumers and business clients. LegalZoom just had their IPO this week, marking a significant milestone for legal technology and the productization of legal services.
Now is the time for attorneys to identify productization opportunities in their service portfolio and seek out the technology necessary to turn those opportunities into reality. Not only will it help them remain competitive (and relevant!) but it can also be an effortless additional revenue stream. And since the output of legal documents is the final product, it makes sense that learning to use document automation would be the best place to get started.
Mike Robinson is a freelance B2B copywriter specializing in the health tech, fin tech and legal tech industries. After a sixteen-year legal career in business and healthcare finance litigation, he now crafts compelling content for professionals in these verticals to help them better understand the options for technical tools that can move their business forward.