Joseph Craig
South Australian residents are now benefiting from new chat technology that enables them to get legal help online and live. ‘Legal Chat’ was launched in October, 2015 and it helps in connecting solicitors with the public. So far, the platform has connected more than 3,000 South Australian residents with different solicitors from the Legal Service Commission of South Australia.
There is a wide range of topics that people can choose to ask the commission lawyers by entering their questions online to initiate the chat. There has been a positive response from regional users. In addition, the project has resulted in improving client access and has allowed legal aid to expand the reach of its services for those living in the interior locations in South Australia. “The reason behind this is because the service is real-time and efficient,” said Chris Boundy, the commission’s manager.
As a matter of fact, many people are showing interest in Legal Chat as a way of seeking guidance regarding their legal needs. Mr. Boundy added that the number of users will significantly grow this year. The remote and regional parts of South Australia have relatively contributed to the Legal Chat inquiries by 15 per cent.
Other legal bodies are now embracing the technology, which was first introduced into the market by the South Australian Commission. “The program offers the convenience of logging queries online and it has benefited many people, especially the remote people,” said Mr Boundy while speaking to Aussie Lawyer Blog. He went ahead to say that delivery of free information to people would extend if digital transformation was embraced by everyone in the vast state.
Traffic from under-30s increases daily, hence showing that digital natives have embraced the alternative service. The program has been highlighted on social media platforms used by younger people such as Facebook and Twitter. The high demand of legal assistance has been dealt with accordingly, thanks to the ability of this service to leverage other overstretched means of reaching out to the people.
