41 Source Legal

The legal profession has always attracted a reputation of stress, long hours and expenses – particularly for small businesses that don’t have much money to spare. A lot of small businesses simply think hiring a lawyer is out of the question.

Not anymore. Due to technology and a larger cultural emphasis on mental health, “NewLaw” – which refers to the way automation, technology and lifestyle factors – is changing the way lawyers work. Stanislav Roth is riding that wave to success.

Roth started his Source Legal business in 2010 with a vision: hire lawyers to service SMEs on a flat fee retainer basis. The business essentially becomes a legal department for SMEs, offering unlimited legal access.

That means the lifestyle of the business becomes attractive to lawyers burned out from the profession.

“There are no timesheets, no budgets, and no set hours,” says Roth.

“It means we can attract high quality lawyers who want more flexibility in their workload, which is critical for business growth. It’s a more profitable and rewarding way of practising the legal profession,” says Roth.

“And it’s healthier too. It’s a deliberate innovative approach to working, aimed at combating the high stress and wellbeing challenges that are prevalent in the legal industry.”

Roth started the business by himself, slowly building to 25 retainer clients and eight full-time lawyers. Given the value-based nature of the business, it meant he had to work fast and be decisive in the early days.

That decisiveness led to innovation. The company wants to transform the often complex and jargon-based law profession, which it says “adds costs, time and complication to business, right when industry is demanding speed-to-mark, innovation and personalisation”.

The result? One-page contracts. SMEs get a legally binding contract template that strips complexity right out.

These types of innovations are only possible due to the more relaxed working structure compared to a larger law firm, Roth says.

“This type of thinking flows best when we are relaxed – reading a book, going for a walk, listening to music at night. As such I find that rather than ‘keeping me up at night’, I often find creative solutions to assist my clients when I’m most relaxed,” he says.