How Choose My Lawyer works

Finding a lawyer can be difficult. Not because there is a lack of choice, but because that choice can be hard to compare.

Prices are presented differently. Quality signals are spread across different sources. Firms offering similar services can look very different depending on where you search.

Choose My Lawyer organises that information, giving structure to the market so you can compare firms more easily.

Whilst aiming to make the comparison process as convenient as possible, we also believe people should be able to see how their results are produced and why they are seeing the results they are seeing.

That is why we have designed CML around a set of core principles:

Proudly independent, fully transparent, consistently applied and designed around informed user choice.

No paid rankings. Ever.

Firms cannot pay for a higher position on Choose My Lawyer because we believe independent comparison results should be driven by information relevant to you rather than hidden payments.

The process

Step 1: Tell us about your matter

We ask a small number of structured questions about your transaction, such as whether you are buying or selling and the value of the property.

For the pilot platform we have deliberately limited the information requested.

Users can obtain comparison results without needing to provide contact details.

We believe people should not have to hand over unnecessary personal information simply to compare firms.

Step 2: We organise the market

Choose My Lawyer brings together information that may otherwise require users to search across multiple websites and compare different formats of information themselves.

We then give that information structure and apply the same comparison approach across all firms.

This includes information relating to:

• reputation indicators;
• pricing;
• complaints information;
• regulatory information; and
• number of offices.

If you want to, you can also include office location as an additional factor to compare between firms with.

Want to understand how each factor works?

Results are then generated and ranked using a balanced comparison approach that takes all of these factors into account. This approach recognises that some factors are typically more important than others, so the largest weightings are given to reputation and price.

The default ranking is intended to reflect how we typically make important decisions. Rarely do we choose based on one factor alone. Instead, the default approach provides a balanced starting point rather than assuming that any single factor matters most to every user.

The purpose of this process is not to tell users who they should choose.

The purpose is to help users make more informed decisions by bringing together relevant information in a clearer and more consistent way. This helps users compare firms and move forward with greater confidence and less effort.

Step 3: Compare firms side-by-side

Comparison results are displayed in a convenient grid format, designed to make it quick and easy to understand key differences between firms, all in one place.

Firms are shown in ranked order using the default weighted comparison approach, which combines all factors into a balanced ranking. This provides you with a quick ordering of results. The details for each individual factor are displayed for each firm, so you can dive deeper than just the ranking result.

You remain in control of the process throughout, including deciding which factors matter most to you when it comes to ranking firms.

If you don't like the balanced comparison approach you can re-order the results according to the factor that matters most to you. The ranking still takes into account all the other factors too, but your priority factor is given the most weight.

Alternatively, you can sort the results by any one factor on its own. For example, you could find the firm with the highest reputation amongst your search results. Sorting your results in this way ignores all of the other choice factors though.

However you choose to arrange your search results, Choose My Lawyer does not choose a firm on your behalf and nor does it provide legal advice. The final decision always remains with you.

Step 4: Move forward when you are ready

Once you have reviewed your search results you can then take one of two next steps:

• choose a firm and move forward by clicking Select; or
• request a callback if you would like to speak with a firm before making your decision.

Only at this point do we ask for your contact details so your chosen firm can contact you directly.

We believe people should not need to provide unnecessary personal information simply to compare firms and view search results.

You can learn more here: