The Asia-Pacific region has seen much legal innovation in recent years. And Singapore has been among the leading jurisdictions providing a venue for this innovation. One of those legal entrepreneurs is Yuk Lun Chan, Founder of SingaporeLegalAdvice.com. Here’s our recent Q&A interview with him about what inspires him and what he has planned for the future:
What’s your background in law and what inspired the founding of SingaporeLegalAdvice.com?
I have a law degree from Singapore Management University.
Setting up SingaporeLegalAdvice.com was really about putting Singapore on par with other jurisdictions. When I was in law school a few years back, I saw that other countries had legal portals providing information about the law and lawyers, but there wasn’t a comprehensive one in Singapore.
As I had some website development experience, I was in the right place at the right time. I started rewriting and posting whatever I was learning in school, with some help from friends.
The current SingaporeLegalAdvice.com legal platform, which connects individuals and small businesses to lawyers and legal information, is the result of a lot of adapting and improving from those early days.
We launched features to help users connect with lawyers in 2014 and haven’t looked back since.
Do you focus on the legal needs of both individuals and businesses?
Yes, as long as it makes sense from a user point of view to cater to a need online, we’ll do it.
How can lawyers and those in need of legal advice use the platform?
The fact is that an increasing number of those in need of legal advice go online to look for it. For them, SingaporeLegalAdvice.com is a one-stop platform that does two things. Firstly, the platform provides legal information for them to make a good decision. Secondly, they can choose to connect with relevant lawyers.
On the other side, lawyers need a cost-effective way to reach out to potential clients online. We provide that avenue.
Overall, as the leading legal platform in Singapore by web traffic, we have received excellent feedback from both users and lawyers.
Is the platform a complement to law firms, or a competitor?
SingaporeLegalAdvice.com is definitely a complement to law firms. We do not provide legal services ourselves, so the way that we serve the users’ legal needs is by coming up with the best way to connect them to law firms.
At present you’re in Singapore – what plans if any, do you have for growth in the Asia-Pacific region?
We’re on the lookout for opportunities. I think every jurisdiction has its own set of needs, and it’ll be exciting to find something that we can adapt to support.
What advice can you offer law students or aspiring legal entrepreneurs about how they might find or work for a legal startup?
Be open-minded about your career choice. Read more outside of law and in all the different genres. Talk to people from diverse backgrounds. Gain different skills and experiences. The fact that you’re reading this article is a good start.
