At home, at work and half the price

Melbourne commercial barrister Andrew Meagher and co-founder Andrew Mellett say their model — where freelance lawyers are supplied to clients in need of ​“routine” legal work — could substantially slash a company’s legal bills.

Plexus has established a network of ​“law firm refugees”, as Meagher and Mellet call them, who are largely women wanting to balance working from home with child rearing or study. It employs lawyers on a casual basis and connects them with clients, as well as providing project management, quality control and – for an additional fee – senior lawyer oversight.

With far smaller overheads than a firm, the Melbourne-headquartered company aims to pass efficiency gains to its clients, and pays its freelancers 20 to 30 per cent more per hour than law firms pay their permanent staff.