In France, 100% online has become an established part of the entrepreneurial landscape.
A growing number of companies are offering digitalized services, and this trend is part of the economy of today and tomorrow.
The aim? Dematerialize, simplify, accelerate and innovate
The business services sector is a perfect illustration of this transformation.
It includes banks, telephone operators and insurance companies, as well as legal services and business start-ups, all of which make up LegalTech.
This branch of FrenchTech is making a high-profile breakthrough and shaking up the legal services sector.
The term LegalTech (a neologism of Legal and Techonology) refers to the pool of innovative companies offering legal services using new technologies.
In other words, start-ups that enable the digitization and/or automation of a legal department, whether in terms of support, processes or relations with legal professionals.
There is also talk of democratizing access to legal services.
Born in the early 2000s in the United States, LegalTech already boasts a large number of players.
The USA has over 300 start-ups in the online legal services sector.
The most influential players are RocketLawyer, Hub Avocat, Lawcracy and LegalZoom.
This transformation of the legal market has been enthusiastically received, with LegalZoom (100% online business creation) already accounting for 25% of business start-ups in California.
In France, their growth has been slower, but for some time now we've been seeing exponential growth.
Today, there are more than 75 LegalTech companies in France.
LegalTech's 3 main areas of intervention are :
- Managing and creating acts
- Business creation and management
- Disputes and consumer law
We can expect to see an ever-increasing number of LegalTechs in the coming years, due to the popularity they are generating among individuals and businesses.
LegalTech has three types of customers:
- The companies
- Individuals
- Legal market players (lawyers, accountants)
The latter has been overwhelmed by the digital wave
Legaltech began by offering solutions to market players so that they could integrate them into their business.
But today, these young companies are going direct to market with their own services, disrupting the market by redefining the overall offer, codes and prices.
Traditional players have to adapt, but above all they have to accept this new way of operating, driven by the digitization of the economy.
So we need to find a middle ground between traditional procedures and dematerialized processes.
Certain professions in the sector, such as chartered accountants and lawyers, are taking advantage of this opportunity to place support and advice at the heart of their strategies, relying on digital technology for time-consuming administrative tasks.
Despite this confrontation, common ground between all these players is possible. While the digitization of legal services is a major step forward, it is not yet capable of addressing the concerns and questions of entrepreneurs.
If the legal market succeeds in combining technology and tradition, it is at the dawn of a real metamorphosis that could ultimately create an ideal synergy and offer services 100% adapted to its targets.
Online business start-up
Captain Contrat
Simplify your administrative and legal procedures at affordable prices with Captain Contrat!
A major player in LegalTech, Captain Contrat has just raised 4 million euros to accelerate its development. This start-up offers a new 100% online legal experience for entrepreneurs and small businesses: to facilitate their procedures, it enables them to generate legal documents simply by relying on a network of lawyers:
- Starting a business: from articles of association to registration
- Business management: drafting of commercial contracts, trademark registration, liquidation
- Introduction to lawyers
LegalStart
LegalStart lets you manage all your legal formalities online:
- Setting up a company or association
- Register a trademark
- Contact a lawyer
- Cessation of activity etc.
LegalVision
LegalVision defines itself as a gas pedal of legal procedures, enabling small business owners to carry out their legal formalities online:
- Starting a business
- Trademark registration
- Account deposit
- Sales of shares, etc.
Tax advice/specific status
Tacotax
Tacotax is your online tax coach!
The site offers several services to support taxpayers throughout the year:
- Optimized declaration: you can declare your income in an optimized way, without errors and without paying a single euro too much.
- Automatic analysis of your tax-saving situation: in just a few seconds you'll find the best ways to reduce your taxes
- Tax simulation: calculate the exact amount of your income tax in 1 minute
- Expert Q&A: ask all your tax questions free of charge and get an expert answer.
Ilovetax
Ilovetax, a specialized service for auto-entrepreneurs.
Ilovetax simplifies the daily life of auto-entrepreneurs by automating and digitizing the accounting and day-to-day management of micro-businesses:
- Creation of quotations and invoices
- Bank account connection from software
- Sales declaration
- Forecasting payroll costs, etc.
Consumption, Housing, Work
Seeking justice
A true Legal Tech pioneer in France, launched in 2012, Demander Justice is a group of sites enabling the simplified settlement of everyday disputes without lawyers' fees:
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Litige.fr: for consumer affairs, housing, telecoms, travel, banking/insurance...
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SaisirPrudhommes.com: for labor disputes
Legal advice
Legalife
LegaLife offers a range of legal services 100% online.
The start-up enables professionals and private individuals to draw up their own administrative and legal documents online, and to be put in touch with a lawyer!
The fields are varied:
- Company: SARL articles of association, confidentiality certificate...
- Work: employment contract, letter of resignation...
- Real estate: commercial lease, accommodation certificate...
- Family: PACS, declaration of cohabitation...
A promising sector
The LegalTech sector is therefore experiencing a real craze, with numerous conferences, workshops and trade shows (the latest LegalTech trade show took place on December 6 and 7) organized around the digital transformation of the legal and legal services market.
Fundraising is on the increase, and dialogue between players in the legal market and LegalTech is intensifying in a constructive way.
A lesson to remember? Never think that the traditional is incompatible with new technologies!
Written by our expert Jeanne Lehoux
December 8, 2017
