Editor's note: This is an ongoing series of question and answer pieces focusing on Santa Monica's emerging technology industry. This week's subject is Law Kick and its founder Aaron George.
Erik: Start with what got you to be an entrepreneur and what got you to go that route.
Law: I didn't really know what I wanted to do. My parents are both doctors so I started out pre-med in college, finished my degree in biology and chemistry, and then didn't really want to go to med school. Meanwhile, I had been dabbling with websites, blogs — little online ventures and whatnot — and I was enjoying that. I liked the creative process but never really considered it as a career. I ended up going to law school instead of med school. It was shorter, more practical, and you're not trapped in a medical career. You can do whatever you want. However, I realized I honestly just hated the legal industry. Practicing law wasn't for me. At that time, I had started an iPhone app development company. I was doing that while juggling law school, and it was going decently well. I wasn't making enough to live off of but I felt like that was my passion, which lead me to decide that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I dropped out of law school, and here I am going strong as an entrepreneur and loving it.
Erik: Nice, so tell me about your company?
Law: My newest venture is called Law Kick, an online marketplace connecting clients and lawyers. We have questionnaires and intake forms you will fill out when you come to the website with a legal need — a DUI or a business formation or intellectual property — each categorized with the appropriate area of law. It takes about five to 10 minutes, after which the form is distributed to lawyers with the right qualifications in your city. They will review it and, if interested, contact you through the site, giving you a price quote and estimate of fees they would charge. From there, we facilitate all of the communication to make it super easy, fast, and affordable. You can get a nice comparison of quotes from different attorneys and firms. Right now, we are focused on expanding and getting into payment and other aspects of the entire process. Ultimately, we want to make legal services accessible, affordable, streamlined, and efficient.
Erik: Nice, so how do you think your company is changing the world?
Law: At law school, I saw first hand the problems and inefficiencies in the industry. On the legal practice side, I saw small firms having difficulty bringing in clients and business. Meanwhile, there are millions of people with legal problems that end up trying to do it themselves and don't get proper representation. Legal Zoom and Rocket Lawyer are handling the DIY legal service things online well but at the end of they day, they are not providing adequate representation. A "one size fits all" legal service doesn't tailor to your needs or issues. I thought there was an opportunity with technology to connect people with attorneys and make it more efficient, easy, and fast like Legal Zoom but with actual real legal help from a lawyer. And that's what we want to do — make legal help easy to access. Hopefully, we think that by making client acquisition much more efficient on the lawyer side, they can eventually reduce their prices. We want to create this transparent marketplace where there is supply and demand and the prices will fall in line. Currently, it is operating behind closed doors and that's just not the case.
Erik: So why did you choose Santa Monica and what do you think of this whole Silicon Beach?
Law: I think it is a really great start-up community. I have spent some time up north in the Bay Area, but I feel like it's a little more established, a little harder to break into. People compare it to Hollywood down here. So, I really like what Santa Monica has. Silicon Beach is an awesome community — I've met a lot of great people here, and I think it's a very supportive environment to build a start-up.
Erik: And what's one thing you would like to share with the locals of Santa Monica?
Law: Law Kick is a local-focused company. You have to be local with legal services because most people want to work with an attorney that's nearby so you can meet face to face. We have primarily focused on the Los Angeles and Santa Monica markets so we are here and available if you have any legal problems, questions or concerns. Whatever they may be, we will get your legal matters resolved quickly and affordably.
editor@www.smdp.com
