Law&Company wins again as prosecutors decline to indict

A pedestrian passes by an advert of legal service app LawTalk in southern Seoul, Aug. 5, 2021. [YONHAP]

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office declined on Wednesday to indict Law&Company and CEO Kim Bon-hwan for violating the Attorney-at-law Act.

The prosecution found that the company did not provide legal services in violation of the law and did not illegally harvest user data.

Law&Company was reported to the police by the Organization of Lawyers on Occupational Protection in November 2020 for receiving fees from lawyers for advertising and for connecting them with potential clients.

The association also claimed that the company was illegally collecting data from users and providing predictions about the outcome of cases.

"The service does not demand any other fees than the advertisement fees from the lawyers, and the lawyers are paid directly by the users, which means the service cannot be seen as brokering the two parties," the prosecution said.

The prosecution added that there is "no evidence to prove that the company collected data illegally" and that it is not illegal for an automated program to calculate the likely outcome of a case because the service is offered for free.

This is the third time the company has been challenged and cleared of charges brought since 2015.

Founded in 2012, Law&Company claims to provide easier access to legal advice. It has been challenged by some of the biggest legal industry groups since starting LawTalk in 2014.

In March 2015, the Seoul Bar Association reported the company to the prosecutors, claiming that its LawTalk was operating in violation of the law by brokering business between lawyers and consumers and taking paid advertising from attorneys. The Korean Bar Association made a similar claim in September 2016.

"We welcome the prosecution's decision," Law&Company said in a press release. "Our legality has been demonstrated multiple times since we started our service in 2014, and we take this as further validation of our legitimacy."

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]