Client FAQs

How can Legally Direct help me find a good lawyer?

Legally Direct is operated by Legally India, which is India’s largest news website for Indian lawyers with over 1 lakh visitors per month. Thousands of practising advocates and lawyers will therefore see your case, ensuring you will receive a high quality of applications.

How will lawyers compete to represent me?

Lawyers will bid for your case, explaining how they can help you with your problem, how long it will take and giving you an estimate of how much it will cost.

We will send you an email whenever a lawyer bids for your project and you can then either ask the lawyer further questions or decide to instruct them.

Once you've picked a lawyer, you should talk to them by phone and arrange to meet them as soon as possible. You will then enter into a retainer with him or her, formalising the instruction. You will have to pay any fees agreed between you directly to the lawyer.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality in legal problems can be very important.

Please note that the queries that you post on Legally Direct will be visible to many lawyers. Therefore, if confidentiality is important in your case, make sure that when you submit your legal problem, you leave out any names (including your own name), as well as other specific details that would allow someone to find out who you are.

How do I describe my problem?

It is possible to describe almost all legal problems in general terms, however, make sure you include enough non-identifying details about your case to allow a lawyer to evaluate your legal position.

Imagine that you are telling a friend about your problem, pretending that it is actually the problem of another unnamed friend or relative.

But don't worry too much - our staff will read your submission in the strictest confidence and let you know if you need to provide more details or if what you have written is too revealing.

How much does Legally Direct cost?

Legally Direct is completely free for clients to use - we make money by asking lawyers to pay us a monthly subscription fee to bid for your legal work.

When you find a good lawyer whom you want to instruct, you will pay them directly for their services at the rates you have agreed.

So, before diving in, ask yourself: is your problem important enough to you, to spend some money on a lawyer?

Lawyers are professionals who make their living by their expert knowledge and advice they give. While a few lawyers might be happy to chat to you for free for a few minutes, most might not be happy to give their service away for free. In any case, sooner or later, a lawyer will start charging you for their services. Be prepared.

Do you actually have a legal problem, query or case?

You might think you need legal help, but not every problem actually needs a lawyer. Read our guides for more information on common legal problems and where lawyers come in.

Are you aware of the risks?

Litigation is a minefield, and things often go wrong. You could end up not winning your case. You could potentially even end up having to pay the other side. And you may be in it for the long haul.

Do you know how long cases can take?

Infamously, litigation in India can take anything from days (in very rare cases), to years and even decades sometimes. Always think about whether the potential time investment of litigation will be worth it.

Advocate FAQs

How do I sign up?

You can sign up in less than five minutes. You just need your state bar council enrolment number, which we will corroborate. Within three days you will also need to send us a picture or scan of your bar council enrolment card, which you can submit online or via email.

How much does it cost?

Legally Direct is currently free to use but we will eventually charge flat subscription fees.

What happens if a client gives me a bad rating?

You can dispute bad reviews. Legally Direct will liaise between you and the client to come to a resolution. If we can not resolve your disagreement, you may get your account and all reviews deleted from the site, but you will not be able to use Legally Direct for a period of at least six months.

Am I allowed to use Legally Direct under the Advocates Act? Is this not advertising?

No, quite the contrary. We have spoken to a number of senior lawyers for interpretations of the Advocates Act [link] to ensure Legally Direct complies fully within existing regulations.

In essence, Legally Direct is a platform for clients to issue requests for proposals (RFPs) or tenders to lawyers (similar to what public sector undertakings (PSUs) do when they take out an ad in a newspaper asking for advisers, for example). In other words, clients are directly soliciting and requesting lawyers to pitch to them.

Advocates merely respond to such requests.

If you do need a lawyer, check out Legally Direct to post a legal case for hundreds of lawyers to have a look at and bid for.

These guides are not legal advice, nor a substitute for a lawyer

These articles are provided freely as general guides. While we do our best to make sure these guides are helpful, we can not give any guarantee that they are accurate or appropriate to your situation, or take any responsibility for loss their use might cause you.

Do not rely on anything you read here without seeking experienced legal counsel first. If in doubt, please always ask a lawyer.

Legally Direct - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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