Online legal services can be a boon to law firms as well as the clients that use them, says Simmons' David Fitch

Simmons & Simmons led the pack in client-facing online services when it launched elexica.com in 1999. Thirteen years on, and with a site rebuild last month, the firm launched the next-generation elexica platform, introducing a robust web content management system and e-marketing integration. This award-winning free online legal service, aimed at delivering know-how, training and value-adds, continues to help the firm drive new revenue while supporting and adding value to its key client relationships.

Changed legal landscape

Much has changed in the legal sector since elexica was first launched, especially the rapid adoption of technology that has occurred in the last decade, the complexity of the legal and regulatory landscape in which we now operate and, importantly, a global financial crisis that has put pressure on all sectors to drive down costs and look for the opportunities to do business in more robust, efficient and sustainable ways.

The legal sector has not been immune to these challenges, and in the last few years the profession has been under increasing client pressure to deliver greater value – the same (or better) quality of service, but at an overall reduced cost.

Firms have responded to this challenge in many different ways, including the move to globalisation, the deconstruction of legal services that allows for component parts to be moved to lower cost centres and, lastly, through the use of technology to improve the efficiency of how we work and how we collaborate with our clients.

simmons-elexica-1Legal services online

Online legal services are not a new phenomena, with many law firms in the UK and abroad developing and implementing innovative services (and, more recently, mobile apps) to deliver legal information, compliance-based training or component parts of the legal service (such as document drafting).

Looking around at the UK market, the big firms focus on similar areas, developing multijurisdictional information services that focus on key legal areas – from privacy and data protection to financial services regulatory. Developing these services takes time, effort and attention to detail. But executed well, clients can benefit in a few different ways:

  • the cost of obtaining/producing the advice is effectively shared across the subscriber base, making it cost effective for the client to consume;
  • difficult and complex areas of law can be synthesised in a way that focuses the client on core issues and risks; and
  • information provided in these services can be integrated with in-house risk and compliance systems, integrating the regulatory frameworks into organisational workflows.

The Simmons experience

Simmons started its journey with the concept of delivering legal information and know-how as a value-add to its clients. The elexica online platform provided an easy entry point for clients to keep up to date, undertake legal research or complete short online training courses in a number of different subject areas.

Depending on a client's relationship with the firm, they would see all or a component part of the content available on the site. Over time, many new content areas were developed including video-based online training and a weekly video podcast channel (which was integrated with the iTunes infrastructure, allowing new episodes to be automatically downloaded to mobile devices as soon as they were released).

A few years ago, the firm began to develop a new breed of higher value subscription services, especially in the financial services regulatory space, with a suite known as Simmons & Simmons navigator. This is an online legal service that provides reliable, user-friendly and cost-effective guidance on global regulations relating to the marketing and sale of open-ended funds, closed-ended funds, notes and securities and share disclosure and short selling.

Navigator currently covers over 80 jurisdictions and is based on information provided by local counsel in each jurisdiction, which is reviewed and updated regularly. It is now an important service offering for the firm, providing a valuable direct revenue stream and a useful way to engage in client conversations that often result in flow work being obtained.

A new elexica platform

To keep online services alive and to market requires constant investment in terms of time.

Our original elexica platform, although functional, was holding us back, so during 2011, a major rebuild was undertaken. The next-generation elexica provides a number of key enhancements, including:

  • the ability to operate the site in a choice of eight languages, including Chinese and Japanese;
  • personalisation and user preferences, allowing subscribers to tailor the content they view and the alerts they receive;
  • visual (map-based) navigation and report builders, to improve content access and report creation for navigator subscribers; and
  • complete mobile compatibility, allowing the site to be viewed across platform and on many mobile devices including iPad, iPhone and Android devices.

It is clear to me that a coherent online strategy is an important part of every firm's business plan. Handled thoughtfully, online services can help a firm drive new revenue, deliver legal services cost effectively and contribute to both supporting and adding value to client relationships. One size does not fit all, and smaller firms can make the move (just as easily as larger firms can).

David Fitch (pictured) is knowledge and learning director at Simmons & Simmons.