Startups and small businesses complain that lawyers are expensive and costs are unpredictable. Lawyers complain that finding clients and getting paid is difficult. Sounds like an industry begging for some entrepreneurial thinking.

A wave of companies are using technology to provide affordable fixed-priced legal services to startups and small businesses, and referrals and payment to lawyers. Some products provide diagnostic tools that identify gaps in legal coverage that open businesses to risk. In the same way that the healthcare industry tries to  provide lower-cost preventive services to reduce the cost of more expensive long-term care, tech-enabled legal companies provide startups and small businesses with precautionary legal agreements and contracts to reduce the possibility of much more expensive legal action down the road. These legal websites are based on the premise that by bringing down the costs of lawyers, more companies will use legal services.

Photo credit: Sam Howzit, Giant Gavel via Flickr