Lauren Riley turns to crowd funding to boost her client-communications app
One of the lawyers Alan Sugar sacked from last season’s Apprentice television hit is bidding for crowd funding to boost her business brainchild in a pitch that competes directly with the Law Society.
Lauren Riley — who attributed her failure on the BBC programme last November to Sugar’s supposed hatred of lawyers — yesterday opened the door to the public in a bid to raise £150,000 for The Link App.
Very pleased to announce my business @thelinkappHQ is offering equity #crowdfunding launched today! https://t.co/vF7hADwKK2
— Lauren Riley (@MissLaurenRiley) June 8, 2015
The family law specialist at St Albans solicitors’ firm Labrums has been developing the app for some time. She describes it as “ultimate tool for busy law firms looking to thrive in an increasingly competitive market, improve customer service, save time and money and increase productivity”.
Essentially, her business model involves law firms licensing the app and supplying it to their clients. According to Riley, the tool keeps “clients in the loop without the need for back and forth communication, freeing up valuable solicitor’s time”.
In announcing the Crowd2Fund cash call yesterday, Riley estimated that the app could increase law firm profits by a staggering £84,000 annually per fee earner through its enhanced communications and time saving functions.
Funds raised will be used for further development and marketing, and the deal will offer investors a share of equity.
The app’s developers maintained that it is suited to various categories of legal work; however, in the past, Riley has said The Link App is especially well suited to client communications in residential conveyancing matters.
That will put Riley in direct competition with her own professional body, the Law Society, which in the last few days has launched its own all-singing, all-dancing on-line conveyancing tool called Veyo.
But plucky Riley relishes the David-and-Goliath fight, telling Legal Cheek that she does not actually view the Chancery Lane system as a rival.
“It [Veyo] isn’t an app based technology and The Link App answers that demand of our clients. Conveyancing is a sector which The Link App particularly benefits, but we cater to all private client sectors.”
Previously
Exclusive interview: sacked BBC Apprentice solicitor on her journey from self-funded LPC student to solicitor-entrepreneur [Legal Cheek]