Dotcoms have been going all over the shop since those heady days of a year ago when the world and his wife were dreaming up breathtaking internet schemes that would generate millions.
Twelve months later as the casualties are washed up on the surf, one concept that appears to be making waves is the legal services website.
The internet has helped shrink prices in markets from cars to holidays. Could it bring the same powers to bear on the legal market?
The UK and US have several legal services websites such as lawjunction.com, desktoplawyer.net and freelawyer.co.uk.
One of these, FirstLAW (www.firstlaw.co.uk), which is celebrating its first birthday, boasted that it was the world's first virtual law firm.
Established by then Davies Arnold Cooper (DAC) partner Anthony Armitage and based at DAC's London offices, the firm acts as a third party bringing together client firms with legal problems and solicitor firms that register with it and are invited to tender for contracts on a case-by-case basis.
Neither the law firm nor the client firm pay an upfront fee to register with FirstLAW, which
is the case with some other sites. The internet firm picks up 10% commission from the law firm on the first transaction and thereafter 5% on business between the parties it has introduced for a period of a further five years. It now has 550 lay companies registered and more than 250 law firms. But it does not provide hands-on legal advice to clients.
Armitage, who devised the idea, believes its simplicity lies in the fact that legal services are now being treated like many other commodities. He says: "This is the way all clients should seek legal services. Such a system should have been set up years ago.
"There has been no impartial way of getting legal advice. If you look at other services this is not the case. If you want insurance advice you go to an insurance broker, for a holiday you go to a travel agent."
In theory FirstLAW will take on any job valued at £500 or more, although it is principally aimed at commercial rather than common-or-garden work. The company claims to be involved in everything from simple contractual disputes up to heavyweight merger and acquisition activity.
Such a diverse body of work naturally means FirstLAW gets to work with clients and firms of varying size, although it is clear that FirstLAW is keen to corner the corporate market.
Armitage has been actively courting this market since at least last summer, and has set his sights on getting a cut of the business from Ftse 350 companies.
FirstLAW is loathe to divulge which blue-chip companies it acts for, apart from for long-established customers United Business Media, former owners of Express Newspapers and oil giant Burmah Castrol. It claims five Ftse 100 clients with some 10 others in the Ftse 350.
On the flipside, it claims to have registered three of the five magic circle firms, but on the strict basis that none of their identities are revealed.
As finance director Andy Colman quips: "I do not know what we are going to do about this when we have signed up all five of the magic circle."
It is happier to talk of other law firms with which
it has worked, which include Masons, Paisner & Co, Collyer-Bristow and Field Fisher Waterhouse.
FirstLAW believes it can keep shareholders happy
by helping to keep costs down for companies, because the work is auctioned and it frees up time for hard-pressed corporate counsel.
In particular, it aims to help on niche areas, which might not be core to a client's work, not least when it is seeking advice on finding a firm to do work in a foreign jurisdiction. In recent weeks it put a healthcare company in touch with a South African law firm. It has also been involved with an employment dispute in Coventry.
When marketing itself to corporate giants, FirstLAW appears to hold the major distinction over its rivals in that it is not just an auction website, it is an incorporated law practice regulated by the Law Society using the internet as the medium for its services. No solicitors firm can pay a commission to another firm unless it is also regulated by the Law Society.
Being a regulated law firm means FirstLAW emphasises, it can directly advise clients on which firms are most suitable for their work as well as help them specify their instructions and advise on an appropriate fee.
"The other legal sites are largely automated," Colman says. "We are providing a value-added service."
"We are acting almost like a freelance in-house legal team," Armitage adds.
The FirstLAW team emphasise the three aims of its business: to target external clients, obtain best value and maintain quality assurance.
But, away from the sales pitch, what does the market think? At the outset some might have regarded FirstLAW as being too closely entwined with DAC. DAC remains a minority shareholder and its senior partner, David McIntosh, is FirstLAW's non-executive chairman.
One solicitor notes he has received mail from FirstLAW complete with a DAC postmark, but generally the links with the firm are not seen as being too problematic, especially as Armitage is now a consultant.
Paul Sillis, a partner at Collyer-Bristow, which has used FirstLAW on several occasions, is not unduly concerned. He says: "It does not really matter if it generates the work. We have nothing to lose, but it is one of the first questions that people ask. All you can do is look at the results to see if the firm is truly independent or if it can be shown that the larger cases are going to DAC."
FirstLAW claims only a handful of cases have passed to its benefactor during its year of existence and it is a totally autonomous company.
Otherwise Sillis adds that the use of such websites could be a growth area: "We are in a bit of a trial period at the moment to see if this thing works, but certainly the way clients look for lawyers is going to change." The 10% fee does not perturb him as firms only pay it if they get work. Others are not so sure. Vincent Denham, the recently installed chief executive of Westminster-based firm Radcliffes, is keen to explore any avenues for further business.
But he adds: "At first glance the 10% charge does seem a lot of money. Somebody is going to have to pay for that 10%." In terms of the nature of the work for which FirstLAW will be used, the general consensus is that at least initially, more everyday business rather than high-end City work is likely to provide the bread and butter.
Sillis believes the service will appeal most to smaller businesses, which may have recently set up and lack contacts. Of larger deals, he says the client is likely to want to use a trusted firm rather than an impersonal website. This message is borne out by Dan Fitz, general counsel at Cable & Wireless (C&W), a firm reported last summer to be interested in using FirstLAW's service.
Fitz claims that to his knowledge C&W has yet to work with the internet site, but like Sillis he believes such a service lends itself to getting a good price for run-of-the-mill work.
But of the high-end business, he says: "For M&A and high-risk work, you want a name that people really know to advise you."
FirstLAW's determination to break into the big league is now backed by the cash and advice of PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC's) Incubator venture capital arm. FirstLAW, so far, is one of only five projects that it has agreed to finance out of 1,500 applications. Incubator's involvement has coincided with a lessening in DAC's role, and Armitage and his team see their new partner as a vital component in a game plan that will require an injection of £2-£3m in the next couple of years to grow the company.
It is made clear that PwC's influence extends beyond money – FirstLAW's financial director Andy Colman is on secondment from the professional services giant.
He says: "PwC has agreed to provide us with constructive advice on all areas including marketing, developing business plans and assisting us to raise venture capital.
"Their true value is in terms of their brand. They can open doors often closed to others. It helps to build business opportunities."
Armitage hopes to develop the business by building up relationships with banks, insurers and other large repositories of possible future clientele.
It is clear that such backing will become increasingly important – especially with eLawforum, a well-financed US competitor founded by entrepreneur John Henry, starting to build strength in Europe. It is also looking to capture the corporate market, one that it has concentrated on in the US since setting up in 1999.
With all this money and backing about, legal auction sites seem to have a rosier future than many of their dotcom contemporaries.