It was enough to enlist 33 prominent law firms as charter members of the site. He is banking on lawyers being fed up with a disorganized, inefficient marketplace. So far, they seem to be agreeing with him. Still in its developmental stage, the site may provide extranets through an outside vendor, or with its own in-house staff, or a combination thereof. The idea that these law firms could secure solutions from this entity makes a lot of sense.
Firms are more hesitant.
Given that large firms are more likely to need extranets for document sharing with big clients, the demand from smaller firms for this service is uncertain. Having all of the providers in one location would be a major boon, says a senior lawyer at a New York firm that is not a charter member. It expects to make a profit with a revenue model that charges vendors a percentage of the transactions made through the site. The percentage will vary depending on the product or service, but could be as high as 30 percent. With the firm's blessing, of course.