LibelXpress: phase one

Even Solicitors have moved on from the quill pen and high stool and indeed most firms have well and truly embraced the internet revolution. But Solicitors are also anxious that they should not be part of any dot.com bubble that may easily burst. Sarah Webb of Russell Jones & Walker (RJW) discusses the progress RJW has made in the first phase of implementing LibelXpress.

As a firm we identified the needs both of our existing and potential clients. Initial research showed that our clients wanted the benefits that can be delivered using online services - speed convenience and confidentiality - but at the same time did not want to sacrifice the ‘personal touch’. From a business perspective initial legal advice delivered online can offer a far more streamlined approach to assessing the likelihood of bringing a successful claim and it also overcomes the fear that many people still have about the cost of accessing legal services.

Recent reforms in the Civil Procedure Rules and the advent of pre-action protocols have heralded a greater spirit of co-operation between claimant and defendant solicitors and introduced a greater sense of efficiency into dealing with claims. The introduction of Conditional Fee Agreements has also made certain areas of the law a more level playing field particularly defamation which is no longer the preserve of the wealthy and famous.

As defamation experts we already received a considerable number of requests for advice. In defamation more than anything else it is essential to move quickly. Any claimant who delays in bringing a claim runs the risk of being accused of being insincere by the defendant.

LibelXpress in its first phase of development and available at rjw.co.uk as well as through secure links from a number of client web sites is a bespoke online defamation screening service which enables a potential claim for libel to be handled as quickly and as cost effectively as possible.

The site contains easy to understand information on libel law enabling a potential claimant to complete a questionnaire that is submitted to our defamation department. An initial assessment of the claim is made at no cost and the client is contacted within two working days to discuss the best course of action.

A pre-publication advice service is also offered to protect publishers from libel and copyright infringement issues details of which can be submitted online. This service will be particularly useful to public relations consultants who often publish sensitive press releases detailing competitor information as well as Internet Service Providers who can easily find they are subjected to a claim in libel if defamatory material appears on their sites. For such industries speed is of paramount importance and through LibelXpress we are able to offer a two-hour turn around service on most pre-publication issues.

LibelXpress has been the first development in our online offering and has already proved a great success. We have seen an increase in requests for advice of some 20 per cent and enquiries show that defamation claims arise in a much wider number of areas than the expected claim against the media. For example we have seen a number of commercial based claims arising when people leave companies or through disputes with competitors that can lead to defamatory allegations being made.

Often these companies need a very quick response to their query and just want advice as to how to diffuse a potentially litigious situation. The advantage with the LibelXpress format is that it can be rolled out into a variety of different areas.

When we launched LibelXpress it operated using a simple database developed specifically for that service. However due to increased demand and to integrate the system with our other online services we plan to incorporate it into our twenty-four hour call centre that uses the Onyx Customer Relationship Management system.

This allows us to deal with claims in the most efficient way ensuring immediate response times to both online and telephone enquiries twenty-four hours a day but it also enables us to capture client details so that we can build a personal profile of their needs and expectations. Everybody will require different legal services at different points in their life and customer relationship management technology allows us to offer tailored products such as conveyancing and wills at a time when the client will need those services most.

We are expanding the online claims services to institutional clients and to the general public. The advantage of any of these online services is that they can be branded and developed to meet the client’s needs and to ensure that we are pro-active in anticipating how clients want to contact their solicitors and receive advice.

The internet has also overcome the problem of sending targeted information to a mass audience. As advisers to a number of trade unions comprising of hundreds of thousands of members we are now able to reach a mass audience through secure web sites that are password protected. This means that we are able to deliver updates on important legal developments in a cost-effective way and in a format that pleases the client.

A good example of such a service is Health&safetyXpress a new site that we are rolling out to our institutional clients. Health&safetyXpress is the UK’s first dedicated website which offers access to the latest developments on health and safety law as well as a searchable database containing answers to the 200 most frequently asked questions on health and safety in the workplace. With corporate accountability at the forefront of peoples’ minds we found that our trade union clients and their members wanted immediate advice in a user-friendly format. The service can be branded for individual clients and accessed either through links from their own web sites or via a secure username and password.

Online legal services are undoubtedly the way forward. They are protected to ensure confidentiality response times are guaranteed and monitoring services developed to ensure that the advice required can be provided.

Our approach to adopting an e-commerce strategy has been an evolutionary one and over the next six months we will be offering online advice and claims handling facilities across the range of our legal offerings including personal injury employment and family. But before adopting any e-commerce strategy it is imperative to carry out the necessary research. Find out what your clients and potential clients want and expect from online services what you want to achieve in the short- to medium-term and ultimately deliver the service in a format that works. Once you know what works and what doesn’t you can incorporate this into your long term strategy.

In the legal world as well as most other service sectors clients will always expect and appreciate the personal level of care that comes from a face-to-face meeting. In a frenzy to embrace the internet revolution many companies have failed to grasp the limitations as well as the opportunities that technology can bring in the short term.

Sarah Webb is a Defamation Partner at Russell Jones & Walker and can be contacted on 020 7837 2808 or s.l.webb@rjw.co.uk