In a rustic with one of many highest crime fee on the earth, entry to legal services is significant for victims. However, entry to legal services in South Africa remains to be just about a privilege reserved for these with legal help protection or disposable earnings to afford the hourly lawyer charges.
To tackle this drawback, legal tech startup Legal Standpoint has developed a cell app which avails legal info, in addition to attorneys, at a charge a lot decrease than the standard legal protection.
Founded by Keitumetse Pule, a graduate of legislation from Wits University, Legal Standpoint in a journey to democratise legal entry not solely in South Africa, however finally past.
TechCabal caught up with Pule to share extra concerning the legal tech startup.
TechCabal: Please inform us extra about Legal Standpoint and the issue you’re addressing by way of the startup?
Keitumetse Pule: Legal Standpoint is a legal tech startup that’s working to democratise entry to legal schooling and services. In essence, every thing we do is geared in direction of making legal sources extra extensively obtainable and readily accessible to everybody within the nation, and finally, in Africa and on a world platform sooner or later.
It’s actually about saying that the legislation is the one factor that applies to all of us and making it as straightforward as potential for individuals to find a way to speak to a lawyer and simply get good legal assist once they discover themselves in difficult conditions.
TC: How a lot traction would you say the providing has garnered since launch?
KP: At the second, we have now onboarded over 1,500 customers on the app. The app is offered for obtain on all main app shops together with the Huawei App Gallery, Google Play Store and Apple App Store. In phrases of attorneys, we have now about 14 verified on the platform. The variety of attorneys which have signed up is greater than that, however we have now very stringent verification processes on the app, so that you’ll solely seem within the listing if we confirm you on our aspect as a result of we all the time need to make sure that customers are speaking to verified vetted attorneys in any respect phases.
We’ve additionally gotten numerous visibility since we began, which has been nice when it comes to rising model consciousness and getting individuals to know concerning the app. In March, we had been invited to pitch at Harvard Business School and that was fairly an incredible milestone for us. We’ve additionally been recognised as one of many prime 5 democracy affirming startups in Africa earlier this 12 months. So all in all, I feel traction goes properly.
TC: What challenges have you ever confronted in scaling Legal Standpoint and the way did you traverse by way of these challenges?
KP: The first one is that the legal business is just not essentially the most receptive to legal applied sciences, so simply getting by way of to attorneys and getting them to see and undertake know-how and see the benefit that it may have for them, and the way it may help them in doing the work has been a little bit of an uphill battle. Across the board, I feel the legal business is likely one of the slowest adapting and responding to know-how.
The different problem has been funding, which I feel numerous entrepreneurs, you understand, cope with when they’re beginning out. But we’ve tried to make essentially the most with what we have now. Like once we launched for instance, we didn’t have an enormous funds for advertising and marketing. We had to depend on our personal private social media platforms and that has actually helped.
For instance, once we launched the app, I put out a tweet which I didn’t assume would garner any traction. But amazingly, it did and garnered over 300,000 impressions. So I’d say these two challenges, adoption and funding, have been on the forefront and that’s how we have now been attempting to work our method round them.
TC: Do you assume legaltech options like Legal Standpoint can impactfully disrupt the way in which legal services are accessed in South Africa?
KP: Absolutely! I feel the wonder about the time by which we entered the area is that legaltech was nonetheless in its infancy in Africa. So there’s nonetheless a lot unexplored territory and when you’re wanting to begin out, that is in all probability the proper time. We additionally know that COVID-19 actually accelerated know-how and the way in which by which we work together with one another.
Technology goes to be a core a part of how we work together with one another, with the setting, and actually, with every thing. So I feel that’s one other nice alternative if you would like to be within the legal tech area. And now we’re seeing AI taking up and that’s a course that we would like to take a Legal Standpoint. as properly, So, there’s actually nice alternatives when you’re wanting to clear up the issue of entry to justice and leverage know-how to try this.
TC: How do you assume legaltech options like Legal Standpoint might help foster inclusivity with regards to legal services in South Africa?
KP: I feel they will go very far. One of the principle causes Legal Standpoint was created is as a result of we noticed that there’s a enormous entry to justice drawback within the nation and there’s numerous elements that may be attributed to that. But the 2 that we discovered, and which we’re centered on particularly, are lack of entry due to jargon loaded legal texts.That’s the place individuals don’t actually perceive the place the legislation stands. They don’t perceive what the legislation says, as a result of it’s simply so overwhelming and complicated. That’s discouraging whenever you’re wanting to come up with legal sources.
The different reality which might be the largest difficulty is that legal services have a tendency to be priced fairly exorbitantly so they’re out of attain for a considerable variety of South Africans. With the economic system getting harder, simply getting legal services is kind of costly. Legal Standpoint then sought to include or to discover attorneys and combination attorneys on the platform. This made legal services accessible and reasonably priced.
I actually assume inclusivity on this area is so vital as a result of I grew up in Soweto the place individuals simply didn’t have cash to spend on attorneys. That’s what made me need to go into legislation and to research legislation, as a result of I noticed that when you come from poor socio financial circumstances, which means you don’t have as a lot entry to such vital services. , you don’t have entry to info, you don’t have entry to services.
According to the structure, the legislation applies to all of us and it’s vital for all of us to be protected by it. I don’t assume it ought to matter who you’re, the place you come from, or what your socio financial circumstances are. If you want to get legal services, they need to be available.
TC: Do you assume such entry supplied by legaltech options can have any affect in addressing South Africa’s crime charges?
KP: Absolutely as a result of the entire level of offering entry to legal services is when you’re a sufferer of any crime or your rights have been violated in any method, it’s best to have swift entry to illustration. This is a fast resolution the place when you have a cellphone, you’ll be able to simply get legal assist by studying it from vetted certified attorneys who’re in a position to show you how to with that.
TC: Are there any plans to increase past South Africa?
KP: That’s the top objective. Because once more, entry to justice isn’t one thing that’s distinctive to South Africa. It’s just about a common drawback. Our enlargement will begin by neighbouring markets Zambia and Zimbabwe in addition to the southern Africa area. We’re constructing from South Africa, however we’re not constructing solely for South Africa.
Expansion would wish some appreciable quantity of fundraising and we do have plans to fundraise within the second half of the 12 months. Hopefully, we will safe some VC funding then. So far, we’ve been getting grants, largely from pitch competitions and different sources and that has helped us in getting the app designed, developed, and garnered the traction that we have now to this level. Funding would assist us get extra attain by way of advertising and marketing, and likewise getting requisite expertise on the staff.
TC: Where do you see legaltech in South Africa within the subsequent 2-3 years?
KP: I actually assume that know-how goes to be an incredible disrupter within the legal sector. Even although proper now we’re seeing that the legal sectors appear to be it’s sluggish to adapt tech options, I actually assume that we’re in a season and an period the place you’ll be able to’t ignore know-how. And if it’s not part of your enterprise processes, you’re in all probability going to get left behind fairly a bit.
I feel within the subsequent two to three years, we’re going to see extra gamers within the area. I feel legaltech goes to begin being a extra viable various than conventional, extra typical choices within the area in the intervening time. I feel instruments like AI are going to even be very disruptive, they usually’re going to actually shake up the scene.
TC: For this final query, may you promote Legal Standpoint to anybody studying this?
KP: We need individuals to know that Legal standpoint actually is a good various whenever you want to get credible legal services. Every lawyer on the app is vetted, the costs are comparatively cheaper than the common costs within the legal sector proper now. We actually simply need to preserve innovating to make it as straightforward as potential for individuals to get legal assist as and once they want to.
Additionally, all of the articles that we have now on there are translated into a number of South African languages. We are going to add extra languages incrementally. Another perk is you can learn the articles offline as a result of we’re conscious that information costs are actually excessive in South Africa.
…. to be continued
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