In 2019, Philippe Roberge had an unsettling epiphany. “I’d practised business law for eight years at a top firm in Quebec City,” he recalls. “Throughout that time, my goal was simple: to become the best lawyer possible. I put all of my effort into the work itself. But I never built up a roster of loyal clients.” Suddenly, he realized that the most successful partners he knew were “both very talented and able to attract clients on a regular basis.”
Roberge threw himself into business development. “I gave my best on every file while networking constantly to generate my own caseload,” he says. “The problem is that, after years of intense practice, I felt tired and burnt out.” Then, one night, as he stood in line at the pharmacy, he had a career-shifting thought: Why do I have to chase clients when I would gladly pay to receive them? I can’t be the only lawyer who feels this way. That thought soon turned into a business plan. “I called up a childhood friend who is a computer programmer, and we created an online platform that connects people who need legal advice with the right lawyer.”
Today, Roberge is the CEO of JuriGo. Active in four provinces—Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia—the 25-person company relies on digital marketing to attract potential clients to its platform. It then vets those leads and sells them, at an affordable rate, to lawyers and law firms. In the interview below, Roberge breaks down the JuriGo model in detail.
“We work hard to offer an affordable solution for all lawyers,” says Philippe Roberge, JuriGo’s CEO. “It should be possible to land new clients without spending every other evening at a networking event.”
The marketing strategy that JuriGo deploys to attract clients is quite unique. How does it work?
In our digital world, people turn to the internet to find a wide array of professionals: insurance brokers, electricians, real estate agents, financial advisors. We’ve optimized the JuriGo website so that, when people search for legal advice online, it tends to rank near the top of the results. This is a major job. Search engines often change their algorithms, so we have to adapt all the time. Thankfully, we have experienced marketing specialists on staff.
Once someone visits our website, we offer a straightforward service: tell us about your legal problem, and we’ll connect you with a lawyer who has the expertise to handle it. We have a brief web form that takes minutes to fill out and submit.
That’s super simple. What happens after someone submits a request?
We have a fantastic team of lawyers and law students that reaches out to gather additional information about the legal problem. We also forecast the approximate value of the case. Then we decide if the request is credible enough to pass along to a lawyer. That’s what makes our platform so special: we have both marketing experts who understand the internet and legal talent who can assess the viability of a lead.
What kinds of clients contact JuriGo?
All kinds. We hear from individual people facing legal issues in areas like family, criminal, real estate and personal injury. We also bring in a large number of business files. All told, we generate more than 100,000 leads per year.
How can a lawyer land clients using JuriGo?
It’s easy. The first step is to create an account. Then a member of our operations team will reach out, often within the hour, to arrange a time to speak. On that call, we’ll ask about the lawyer’s skill set, current caseload and whether that person works at a firm or as a sole practitioner.
Shortly after that conversation, the lawyer can review potential leads that we’ve flagged as a good fit. Each lead on that customized list includes a concise description of the potential file. We also disclose the names of the parties, so it’s easy to identify any conflicts of interest. If the lawyer decides to purchase a lead, we’ll pass along the contact information of the client.
Let’s talk about money. How much does it cost to purchase a lead?
It depends. Our platform divides leads into four buckets: files that are eligible for legal aid; smaller mandates like minor road infractions, wills and real estate transactions; commercial files; and litigation matters with a reasonable likelihood of higher fees. Each category has a different pricing structure, but we work hard to offer an affordable solution for all lawyers. It should be possible to land new clients without spending every other evening at a networking event.
Are you looking to expand your caseload? Create an account with JuriGo today.