Legal world meets retail inside local Wal-Mart

Grocery list: Milk, eggs, bread and a bankruptcy consultation?

That list now is easily attainable at the South Campbell Wal-Mart Supercenter. Next to the bank and down from the quick care clinic, The Law Store opened last month among the other professional service shops customers have come to expect lining the megaretailer.

“One hundred years ago, it made sense to open a law office around the courthouse or the town square because they were the centers of commerce,” said Bryan Berry, Springfield managing attorney and regional director for The Law Store. “Today, the center of commerce is a place like Wal-Mart.”

Berry said the firm’s goal is to bridge the gap between those in need and those who can help. According to a study by the nonprofit Legal Services Corp. that could be a lot of people – 80 percent of all low-income Americans have unmet civil legal needs.

Inside Wal-Mart, the legal services become convenient and comfortable.

“People will avoid seeing a lawyer at all costs if they can, because there is an intimidation factor there,” Berry said. “That has unintended consequences. You get people with no will, people who are trying to navigate their own divorce and people representing themselves in small claims courts.

“All that does is clog the docket and further frustrate the system, not to mention they don’t get the proper legal advice they need.”

The people may need services such as The Law Store, but is the law industry ready to accept the unconventional model? The jury is still out.

Not the first
Edward Hershewe, the owner of Joplin-based The Hershewe Law Firm PC, started The Law Store as a separate business to combat the view of traditional offices with unpredictable prices. The company opened its first two stores in May at Wal-Mart locations in Joplin and Neosho.

Organizers originally were under the impression the firm was the first of its kind, but an Atlanta-based lawyer actually opened the first office in Wal-Mart in 2012. However, fearing backlash from the legal community, owner Evan Kaine of Kaine Law kept it quiet.

“We kept it quiet for a number of reasons,” he told the American Bar Association Journal in June. “The legal industry does not welcome change, and we wanted to make sure our model was sustainable before we went public with it.”

Kaine has since expanded to two additional stores around Atlanta last year. Technically, The Law Store is the second firm to open in America, but Canadian firm Axess Law  also beat them to the punch. The ABA Journal reports Axess Law began in 2013 and now is operating in 10 Wal-Mart stores in Toronto.

Missouri State University associate professor of political science and undergrad prelaw adviser Kevin Pybas said locating within a Wal-Mart could open a firm to criticism.

“Wal-Mart is under lots of criticism for its wages and a lot of people don’t like it, there is a perception there,” said the former lawyer. “The legal community is fairly conservative and when they are confronted with change, they don’t like it.”

According to the ABA Journal, firms such as The Law Store are under the same ethical obligations as shopping malls and other retail environments. There shouldn’t be any arrangements of splitting fees.

Berry said The Law Store rents space from Wal-Mart for undisclosed terms, so it remains independent of the world’s largest retailer.

“We are not Wal-Mart lawyers. They only provide the space,” he said.

In an industry slow to change, Pybas compares the move to legal advertising, a practice many lawyers still frown upon.

“The majority still don’t advertise because there is a stigma there,” he said. “Advertising can skew information. Isn’t that the whole point of marketing?

“But it’s become more acceptable. I suspect this will, too.”

While Pybas acknowledged the legal community may be hesitant to accept the new kid on the block, in theory, The Law Store is a good thing. Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association President Robert Palmer said the group has no official position on the firm as long as its transactions are ethical, however, personally, he agreed with Pybas.

“If someone thinks they can meet these unmet needs, why not let them?” he said. “I think there is a very successful niche for that.”

Equal access
The Law Store at 3315 S. Campbell Ave. will employ three attorneys and four assistants, Berry said, and operate off of menu-board style pricing. Services range from a free notary service to a simple will for $99 and an estate planning bundle for $249 to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy for $999 or $1,299 if filing jointly. The firm also handles things such as traffic tickets, family law, small-business law, personal injuries, elder law, real estate services and immigration.

“We’re designed to be full-service and menu pricing lets you know what you are getting upfront. It lessens the unknown for people who already are leery of the process,” Berry said.

Using increased technology also allows The Law Store to offer what Berry calls more competitive fees. He compared the service to online site LegalZoom.

“The legal community is behind the tech curve,” he said. “That’s a lot of the reason we can offer things and prices people wouldn’t expect.”

Berry said, as with LegalZoom where a person answers a series of online questions to diagnose or solve a problem, The Law Store will function similarly, except with a trained lawyer present.

“That lawyer knows the rules of this state and knows what form you need,” he said. “That eliminates the guesswork.”

The Law Store already has expansion in its sights. The firm plans November openings for two locations inside Wal-Mart stores in Dallas, followed by two Kansas City stores in January and a location in Grand Prairie, Texas, in March.

“Customers are stopping by to say, ‘Somebody should have done this sooner,’” he said, declining to disclose client numbers. “The response from the legal community has been pretty positive as well.”

The target is 25 stores within the next three years, but Berry said leaders already are working with Wal-Mart to expand nationwide.

“They have identified at least 1,500 stores with room for us,” he said.

For now, The Law Store might be unconventional in its location and how it goes about practicing, however, Berry said his goal isn’t to disparage the way lawyers traditionally do business, but to simply pull back the curtain.

“We can be professional and still increase access to justice,” he said.