Businesses prefer actual lawyers than faceless online legal sites.

In the online age, you’d be forgiven for thinking that we all do everything online. We do our shopping, car buying, holiday buying (remember them?!), banking, covid testing, and, well pretty much everything online. 

But recent research shows that, at least when it comes to business owners and legal issues, the preference is to use a real business lawyer not a faceless legal document download site. 

69% of respondents said that they had previously used online DIY legal sites (such as Rocketlawyer, Simplydocs, FSB, and Lawdepot) to download a variety of documents.

Documents varied, but typically were things like T&Cs, employment contracts, privacy policies, and other contracts. 

However, 80% of the respondents said that they would in future use a business law solicitor, so they had knowledge and comfort that it was done properly.

One business owner said “I appreciate that having correct legal documents are extremely important but they are also often expensive. And I know that the cost of having incorrect documents can be a lot higher.”

Indeed, separate research from the Legal Services Board showed that around half of small businesses reporting a legal issue said it had a negative impact, and that total annual losses to small businesses due to legal problems was estimated at £40bn, with over 1 million individuals in small businesses suffering ill health as a result of these legal problems.

Steven Mather is a Consultant Solicitor with National law firm Nexa Law and founder of

Your Business Lawyer, a website which aims to blend the ease of online transactions with the expertise of real lawyers. Mr Mather said: 

“The research shows that plenty of people have been tempted by the cheap online legal providers, but that they look back with some regret. Trying to write a contract when you’re, say, a graphic designer isn’t always straight forward and there is clearly a concern about ‘getting it wrong’, and when it does go wrong it costs severely in terms of money and health. 

“With Your Business Lawyer, I’ve assembled an exceptionally talented team of consultant solicitors from Nexa Law; all of whom have committed to delivering expert business law services on time and on budget.” 

This recent research demonstrates the shift in perception from just a couple of years ago. The Solicitors Regulation Authority in their report on the changing landscape of legal services, referred to two surveys in 2014 and 2015. The 2014 survey of businesses conducted by magic circle firm Allen & Overy revealed that the use of online legal services was likely to increase from 28 percent to 37 percent over the next five years. In a different survey commissioned in 2015, 40 percent of consumers indicated they were interested in the convenience and low cost of online legal services.

The Legal Services Board, which oversees the legal industry as a whole, commissioned a report in 2017 which stated that “there was a significant increase in the proportion of small businesses doing nothing when experiencing a problem (10%), the proportion adopting strategies including handling alone (50%) or using an advisor (24%) changed little between 2013 and 2017”, which echos the research done recently by Mather and his team. 

“What stood out from our research is the demand for high quality legal work, but at affordable rates, and I’m confident that Your Business Lawyer powered by Nexa Law delivers that.”