Robert Ambrogi Blog
A legal information website launched this week is designed to help people in Arkansas handle legal problems on their own confidently and affordably.
Called ArkansasLegalNow (ALN), the site was developed by Brandon Haubert, a civil and family lawyer and the CEO of WH Law, a Little Rock law firm.
“We believe legal help shouldn’t be a luxury,” Haubert said in announcing the new site. “ALN gives people the tools they need to take action, protect their families, and build better futures, without facing overwhelming costs.”
The site’s primary focus is on helping people generate court forms and providing them with instructions on how to file the forms with the right court.
With its launch yesterday, its first product is for helping users modify custody agreements. The platform walks users through a structured process, with educational materials, to complete ready-to-file court forms.
Brandon Haubert
Haubert said the site will eventually add forms for estate planning, probate and small estates, divorce, paternity and guardianship.
“Arkansas is a small state with a population of around 3 million,” Haubert said. “Because of that, national companies often overlook us when developing legal forms or services.
“As a result, people frequently purchase generic legal forms that don’t comply with Arkansas-specific requirements — only to find out in court, when it’s too late, that those forms aren’t valid.”
The site is built on Gavel, a documentation automation platform that enables lawyers to build client-facing legal products.
“ArkansasLegalNow fills a critical gap in access to legal services in Arkansas by providing targeted, state-specific tools for custody cases,” said Dorna Moini, CEO of Gavel.
“Unlike broader legal tech solutions, ArkansasLegalNow is solely focused on this area of law and backed by experienced attorneys who understand the nuances of Arkansas family law,” she said.
I asked Haubert whether he sees this site as a funnel to help steer potential clients to his own firm. He said it is just the opposite — that his firm can be a funnel for Arkansas Legal Now, providing a way to serve people his firm otherwise could not.
“When the firm isn’t able to help someone, for any reason, we shouldn’t just send them away empty-handed,” he said. “Instead, we can direct them to a resource that might actually meet their needs.”