'Rotok' vs 'Naui Byeonhosa' Comparative Experience... Asking "Will I Face Criminal Punishment?" [Legal Service Platform Battle]

I am posting legal consultation questions on 'Rotok' and receiving answers from lawyers.

"You need to submit a non-prosecution request for the criminal trial, not a withdrawal of the civil lawsuit. You should have checked beforehand; even if I explain, you don’t seem to understand well."

On February 8th, in a courtroom at the Seoul Central District Court, a presiding judge reprimanded a defendant charged with violating the Labor Standards Act. The defendant, who had reached a settlement with the victim but failed to properly submit related documents, mumbled, "I was just working..."

The law is an unfamiliar and difficult field. When unexpectedly caught up in litigation, one can only be flustered. That’s why people seek lawyers, but finding the right lawyer for oneself is not easy.

Legal service platforms that connect clients with lawyers in line with the platform era are emerging as problem solvers. Representative examples include 'LawTalk' by Law&Company, launched in 2014, and 'My Lawyer' recently started by the Korean Bar Association (KBA). The legal service platform competition officially began when the KBA, which had criticized LawTalk’s commercial nature, officially opened its own platform on the 1st of this month.

◆'My Lawyer'… Introducing over 5,000 KBA-certified lawyers

"I experienced retaliatory driving; is it possible to file a criminal complaint and claim damages?"

On the 8th, Asia Economy compared and experienced the lawyer hiring procedures of the two platforms. The case was described as: "While entering the Dongbu Expressway in Seoul, the car behind me slowed down or honked around me for several tens of minutes."

'My Lawyer' boasts the strength of having over 5,000 lawyers certified by the KBA participating. When a question was posted on the 'Request a Case' board on the homepage, five lawyers applied to take the case within about 30 minutes. Up to five lawyers can apply on a first-come, first-served basis for one case. The lawyers who contacted ranged from well-known large law firms to individual legal offices. Some actively reached out first via text or phone calls to secure the case.

Users can also directly search for desired lawyers using the search functions by region, field, or name on the homepage main screen. Clicking on each lawyer’s name reveals basic information, education, office details, contact information, personal homepage, and related articles. The order of lawyer information exposure is randomized. Additionally, users can search for specialized lawyers by keywords such as 'divorce,' 'real estate,' and 'traffic accident.'

There is no cost at all for receiving information and choosing a preferred lawyer on 'My Lawyer.' Subsequent detailed discussions for litigation proceed through personal contact with the lawyer.

However, the 'My Lawyer' platform itself provides somewhat limited information regarding individual legal concerns. Only information about lawyers who applied for the case is disclosed in response to questions posted on the board; no separate opinions are provided. The absence of a dedicated smartphone app was also a downside.

A KBA official said, "We started operating only through the website from a cost-efficiency perspective, but app development is also being considered depending on demand," adding, "We plan to gradually add and expand various services." They emphasized, "Information about lawyers certified by the association is disclosed, and since posting false or exaggerated facts leads to disciplinary action, the reliability of the information posted by each member can be guaranteed."

Main screen of the 'Naui Byeonhosa' website. You can directly find the lawyer you want by using the search functions by region, field, and name.

◆LawTalk, Strengths in Convenient Accessibility and Prompt Consultation

'LawTalk' boasts 'accessibility' as its advantage. It is available not only on the website but also as a smartphone app. Full consultations are conducted through a paid reservation system. The initial contact with a lawyer can be chosen among phone consultation, video consultation, or in-person consultation. The cost for a 15-minute phone consultation is usually around 20,000 to 50,000 KRW. Subsequent hiring and fee discussions are handled individually with the lawyer.

On 'LawTalk,' users can also freely view other clients’ consultation cases, resolved cases, legal tips, and other legal information for free. Like 'My Lawyer,' users can search for specialized lawyers by keywords such as 'divorce,' 'real estate,' and 'traffic accident,' as well as by region. When a retaliatory driving case was asked using the 'Write a Consultation' feature, five lawyers responded within six hours. They provided explanations of relevant laws and advised securing black box footage, among other guidance.

'LawTalk' offers advertising services depending on the lawyer’s choice, and lawyers using the advertising service can be exposed in the advertising area. However, 'LawTalk' explains that consultation fees, excluding payment gateway (PG) fees, are fully allocated to the lawyers.

As of March last year, the number of lawyers registered on 'LawTalk' approached 4,000 but temporarily dropped by nearly half when the KBA began disciplinary discussions. However, following repeated statements by the Ministry of Justice affirming that 'LawTalk' is legal and favorable decisions from the Fair Trade Commission, the number is reportedly increasing again.

A Law&Company official stated, "As of last year, the average monthly visitors numbered about 970,000," adding, "In the first quarter of this year, the number of new general users joining 'LawTalk' increased about 3.7 times compared to the same period last year, and the cumulative number of consultations reached 690,000." They continued, "We plan to introduce various legal tech services, including launching 'BigCase,' a legal information search service holding the largest number of domestic precedents."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.