There is a 45 billion latent market for legal services waiting to be served. This market represents the legal needs of low and moderate income individuals and families who cannot afford the existing high cost of legal fees.

1. The Latent
Market for Legal
Services
Closing the Justice Gap
Richard S. Granat
CEO, LawMediaLabs, Inc.

2. What do Consumers Want
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Speed
Transparency
Fixed Prices
Manage Risk
Use of Latest technology
Lower Fees
Trust

3. Empowered Consumers

4. There is a growing
online market for
legal services.
• Online companies such as Legal Zoom and Rocket
Lawyer, when available for specific areas of law,
are being turned to by the public who may
otherwise have consulted with a lawyer.

5. Market Opportunities
• Latent Market for Legal Services: Non-customers- Potentially
Huge
• “Making money while you sleep” = initial investment in
system, minimum effort and time
o
o
o
Online
Charge “serious” fees
No competing products
• Packaging versus commodity
o
o
Ex: legal counsel and strategy with legal document creation
Ex: limited appearance with doc creation
• Value billing versus billable hour

6. Latent Market
• Refers to something that is dormant, not
observable, or not yet realized.
• The earning of a market when that market
becomes accessible and attractive to serve.
• Potential industry earnings or total revenues if a
market is served in an efficient manner.
• Sources:
o The 2011 Report on Legal Services: World Market Segmentation by City,
Icon Group International (2011.
o Bureau of Labor Statistics; US Census Bureau.
o Legal Services: Market Research Report, Market Publishers, October, 2009.
o American Bar Association; US. Legal Services Corporation.

7. 7
The U.S Legal Services Market
• $145 billion market in total
• American consumers spend
approximately $43 billion to $56
billion annually on personal legal
services
• Latent legal services market adds
another $45 billion to the
potential market
Size of the market for legal services
What consumers spend now
$43 billion
Estimated value of under-served
consumers or latent market defined as
the value of legal problems that are not
serviced.
$45 billion
Total market
$88 billion

8. Latent Market for Legal Services
• 50% of middle income households in the US have at least one
legal problem per year
• Only 20% seek legal assistance from attorneys.
• 26% do nothing at all.
• Increasing percentage of consumers seek alternatives to
lawyers such as self-help.
E.g., Nolo and LegalZoom
• Potentially huge market waiting to be tapped in the US for
personal consumer legal services.

9. Market Metrics
78% of Americans do not have a will or updated will.
50% of all marriages end in divorce.
Personal Bankruptcy filings have almost doubled since 1990.
More than 10 million American are victims of Identity Theft
each year.
• Nearly 9 our 10 employees experienced at least one legal
concern during the past year. (Legal Needs Study).
• In fact, seven out of 10 Americans said they experienced a
legal event within the past year*, according to a recent
survey conducted by ARAG, a legal solutions provider. (Legal
Needs Study). Data also supported by American Bar
Association Legal Needs Study.
•
•
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10. Clients are online, lawyers
aren’t
• Pew Research
Center: 3 out of 4
consumers
seeking an
attorney over the
last year used
online resources at
some point

11. NOW
Most
Solos
and
Small
Law
Firms
Early
Adop
ters
Web
4.0
Web
2.0
Web
3.0
Web
1.0
60% of Solos Don’t Have a
Web Site.
‘Brochure ware’ sites
No Advanced Technology
Tiny, Undercapitalized
Operations
Uneven Quality
User generated content
Client Portals
Free Advice
Collaboration
Non-Law Firm Providers
Free Legal Forms
Out Sourcing
New Generation Law Firms
Internet is the Platform for
Delivery
Nationwide Brands
Online and Offline
Online Delivery of Legal
Services.
©NakedEyes http://www.flickr.com/photos/55456073@N00/301678287/

13. Resources
• Marketing Legal Services Online.
• The Evolution of Legal Services – Stage IV- by
Jordan Furlong
• The Future Middle Class of the Legal Profession
Unbundled Legal Services from Solo Practice
University