Virtual Legal Research Assistant

Executive Summary

The need for proficient legal research have seen a significant increase due to the rise in litigation and legislation across various sectors. We propose to start a Virtual Legal Research Assistant firm that will provide virtual assistance to legal professionals in conducting extensive research, thus helping them save valuable time and resources.

Our primary target market will be small law firms and independent legal practitioners, who stand to benefit from our cost-effective services, eliminating the need for full-time employees dedicated to research alone.

The initial investment needed to start our business is below $1000, focusing on website development, cloud storage, and initial marketing. The expected Return on Investment (ROI) is predicted to be 20% in the first year of operations.

Business Description

Our business, named ‘LawNet Research Solutions,’ is a virtual legal research service provider. We will be offering remote legal research assistance to law firms and independent legal practitioners who lack the time or resources to carry out extensive legal research by themselves.

Our services will include, but not limited to, drafting legal documents, researching case laws, legal precedents, and legislative changes. These services will be provided remotely, leveraging advanced legal databases and resources available online.

Target Market

Our primary target market includes small to medium-sized law firms and solo practitioners who often struggle with the massive workload and need external assistance to cope with their research needs.

We will also target corporate legal departments of small to medium businesses that often need legal research but cannot afford to maintain a full-time legal researcher. Our virtual assistance would offer them a cost-effective and flexible solution.

Product Description

Our main product is our ‘Pay as you go’ virtual legal research service, offering flexibility and cost-effectiveness. This service will be tailored to the specific needs of each client, ensuring they get the most relevant and accurate research data whenever they need it.

We will also provide a legal document drafting service, where clients can have their legal documents professionally drafted with the most recent legal standards.

Marketing Plan

Our marketing strategy will focus on reaching out to potential clients through various channels:

1. Website and SEO: Our business will have a professional, information-rich website highlighting our services. We will invest in SEO to ensure our website shows up in search results when potential clients search for virtual legal research services.

2. Networking: We will network with legal professionals, attend industry events, and join online legal forums to spread the word about our services.

3. Social Media and Blogging: We will have active profiles on LinkedIn and Twitter, two platforms where our target clients are most active. We will also publish regular blogs on our website and on platforms like Medium, showcasing our expertise.

4. Email Marketing: We will use email marketing to stay in touch with potential clients and share our latest offerings.

Financial Plan

The initial investment will be less than $1000, mainly focusing on website development and initial marketing efforts. Our revenue will come from the fees we charge for our services.

Our major expenses will include:

• Subscription fees of legal databases and tools
• Website maintenance
• Cloud storage and other SaaS subscriptions
• Marketing and networking costs

We plan to reach breakeven within the first six months and anticipate a ROI of 20% in the first year of operations.

Exit Strategy

In the event our business needs to be dissolved, our exit strategy includes selling our client list and other business assets to a similar service provider. Alternatively, we can pivot towards a software or consulting model, capitalizing on our expertise in legal research.

In case of significant success, we would consider being acquired by a larger legal firm or a corporation wishing to integrate legal research into their portfolio.