Virtual Solicitor Launched For Legal Advice-Seeking Motorists

Fri, 02 Dec 2011

The UK’s first "virtual solicitor" has been launched by a specialist in motoring law, offering motorists access to cheaper professional legal representation.

The Road Traffic Representation website is a new online service that provides free legal advice to drivers for common traffic offences such as speeding and careless driving.

Martin Langan, a practising solicitor and the site’s founder claims the website, which took three years to develop, matches the way a real solicitor would apply the law, based on an individual driver’s circumstances.

He adds that it is designed to help the many thousands of people who normally handle the process alone and who may end up with an "excessive or unjust penalty", or who amass steep legal fees for basic advice .

Once the drivers’ particulars are fed into the website via a series of DIY fact-finding screens, a basic legal diagnosis is provided free of charge, informing the motorist whether they have a potential defence and what penalties are likely if found guilty.

If the case is complex they are invited to speak to a solicitor, for a fixed fee of £35, and can also instruct a barrister via the site if they feel they need representation in court.

"Other industries have provided interactive services online, for instance for obtaining insurance and banking, and I now seek to do the same for legal services," said Langan.

Nicholas Bull, a barrister at the Old Bailey Chambers who helped trial the website, commented: "People currently have two options when faced with a summons. They can go to a solicitor and pay for what may be quite simple legal advice, or turn up in court blind, hoping that there will be somebody there able to help them."

"People will now be able to look up their case online and have a good idea of what’s happening without spending any money."
add to favouritesnewsletterlink to this pagesend to friendpost comments

Link to this page

Copy and Paste the following HTML into your page.