In part one I explained why we dropped the lawyer directory and the fixed-price packages. What we kept was one principle: standardize the way a client chooses a legal service, and leave the service itself to the provider. This part shows how that works in practice and why choice alone wasn't enough.
Model 3: one request, several offers
The client describes the task in one request. For example:
- Country: Kazakhstan
- Service: company registration
- Business activity: IT
- Founders: two, both non-residents
- Timeline: 1 to 2 weeks
- Budget: $1,000 to $3,000
- Language: English
Lexicomb sends the request to matching providers. Each one sets their own price, scope, timeline and conditions. The client gets several offers in the same format and compares them.
That's how the core flow took shape: request, matching, several offers, comparison, choice, payment through the platform, the work itself, review. This is the step where Lexicomb stopped being a lawyer directory.
Why we didn't build Upwork for lawyers
A directory answers "which lawyers exist?" A freelance marketplace answers "who's willing to do this job?" Lexicomb answers a third question: how do I safely decide who to buy a legal service from in a country I don't know?
Inside the team we called it a legal decision engine and summed it up as "freedom of supply, control of trust." The provider builds their own offer, and Lexicomb makes sure the client has grounds to trust it.
Trust: verification, payment, disputes, ratings
If the first pillar of Lexicomb is choice, the second is trust. We built it from four mechanisms, and all four are live.
Provider verification. Someone who just writes "I'm a lawyer" doesn't get on the platform. We run two separate checks. A third-party verification service checks identity: the document, the face and liveness. Lexicomb staff check professional standing: experience, the firm's profile or website, and the right to provide the service in that country. We don't keep copies of documents or biometric data unless we need to. Until a provider passes verification, they see only an anonymized request and can't send an offer.
Payment through the platform. The client doesn't wire money to a foreign lawyer they've never met. They pay through Lexicomb when they accept an offer, and the provider gets paid after the client accepts the work. If the provider hasn't started within 7 days of payment, the money goes back to the client automatically.
Disputes. Lexicomb handles conflicts between client and provider, which protects both sides. Clients have recourse if a provider doesn't deliver, and providers have recourse if a client gets the result and then refuses to accept it. After the provider delivers the work, the client has 7 days to accept it or raise an objection. If they don't respond and there's no valid objection, the money goes to the provider.
Ratings. Beyond reviews, we look at how a provider works: how often and how quickly they respond to requests, how many offers turn into orders, how many orders they complete. Ratings affect where a provider appears in results, so more requests go to people who do good work, whatever their ad budget.
A marketplace has two customers
For the client, the problem sounds like this: "I need a lawyer in another country, and I don't know who to trust." For the lawyer it's different: "I want international clients, and I don't want to keep spending time and money on marketing."
So from the start we offered providers their own reasons to join: protected payment, growth without an ad budget, access to foreign founders and investors, and fair dispute resolution. That's where a marketplace differs from ordinary SaaS. A marketplace has to create value for both sides at once.
How much to standardize
This was the hardest product call. Standardize too little (a directory, a profile, a "contact" button) and the client is back to sorting through scattered offers alone. Standardize too much ("Company registration, $1,000") and you ignore how legal work actually varies.
We settled in the middle. The request format and the offer format are the same for everyone, and the work itself is up to the provider. One lawyer might quote $800, another $1,200, a third $2,000. Each explains the price the same way: what's included, the timeline and conditions, and the extra costs. The client compares three offers in one place instead of a PDF, a WhatsApp chat and an email thread.
What's next
Everything in this part is something the client sees on screen. Part three covers what they don't see: why an off-the-shelf CRM didn't fit, how we structure the request and why not every country is on the platform yet.
If you're planning a business in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan or Russia, describe your task on Lexicomb and compare offers before you choose anyone.
If you're a lawyer or consultant working with international clients, join us. Registration is free, and Lexicomb doesn't take the service fee out of your price. Join Lexicomb as a specialist.