Two students of Symbiosis Law School Hyderabad launch virtual platform for legal help

Two final-year students of Symbiosis Law School Hyderabad have launched an online platform to offer legal solutions to people. A combination of a legal blog and an academic journal, LexForti breaks down legal terms, concepts and laws in easy language for lay people.

Meet Rohit Pradhan and Sridhruti Chitrapu, both fifth-year BBA LLB students of Symbiosis Law School Hyderabad, who conceived of and launched LexForti as a website and as a free Android app.

Edugraph: How did you come together to start LexForti?

Sridhruti Chitrapu: We wanted to launch this website in the first year of law school! But we also knew it’d be a difficult task without some experience. So we waited for a year before taking up this project. We’re the first to come up with a platform that doubles as a legal blog and an academic journal. We’ve also extended our services through a self-built android application.

How did you come up with the idea for LexForti?

Sridhruti: In our first year in law school, both Rohit and I felt the need for a portal to explain complex legal jargon. We also realised how daunting it could seem to a person not familiar with legal terms. It was the motivation behind launching the site.

What motivated you to choose law as a career?

Sridhruti: Coming from a long line of lawyers, I have always wanted to be in the legal profession to help people get justice.

Rohit Pradhan: My father was a retired judge. I have inherited from him my passion for providing justice to all. That’s why I look forward to becoming a lawyer.

Tell us about LexForti. What makes it unique?

Rohit: This legal blog and journal has been created for common people. We present legal news and case laws in layman’s terms. Students, academics and professionals can submit topics related to research for publication here.

Other than being a blog-cum-journal, LexForti hosts an annual signature event called Trademark Prosecution Competition. We’ve partnered with several law firms at home and abroad so that everyone can have a look at the cases handled by them.

What kind of service does the website offer?

Rohit: We provide legal solutions rather than legal advice. LexiFort (https://lexforti.com/) gives readers access to articles that can lead to the right approach to any legal problem they might be facing. For instance, an individual or firm can consult our website to know how to send a legal notice to someone. We have different formats of such notices that can be tailored according to requirements.

How is the portal being funded?

Sridhruti: We charge a nominal fee for publication and utilise that money for marketing, site maintenance and paying remuneration charges to some authors. We don’t charge users and intend to offer our services for free. That’s why we don’t have a paid subscription plan in place.

What are some of the challenges you faced while launching the portal?

Sridhruti: Lack of technical knowledge was a key obstacle when we started out. We didn’t have enough funds to hire a web developer and had to design the website ourselves. Once our website was up and running, we had to learn our way through marketing and networking. However, we have come to know the ropes, or at least we think we do!

Tell us about what you do at LexForti and the team behind it.

Rohit: We have a small group of people working with us including a few editors, research assistants and interns. All of them are final-year law students. These people extract judgments from the official website of high courts and the Supreme Court. Our team analyses the judgments following the FIRAC method.

Sridhruti: We segment such judgments into different categories like facts, issues, rules and laws, and post them on the portal in layman’s terms. When it comes to legal solutions, we receive submissions from lawyers, law firms, academicians and students. Once such submissions are approved by our editorial team, we publish them.

What are your learnings from LexForti?

Rohit: We recognise that the hard work put in by our team is the only key to our success. This venture has taught us the benefits of a healthy competition. Good competition always keeps us on our toes and inspires us to stay ahead of others in the market.

What are your plans for the future?

Rohit: Our organisation has grown beyond our expectations. We hope to expand it into new arenas. We’re planning to continue with LexiFort even after our graduation. Once we become licensed advocates, we would like to offer legal advice to people free of charge. We’ll definitely set up our own legal practice.