It never seemed right to me that entrepreneurs and SMEs could pour time and effort into creating successful businesses, only to have their goals shattered when a legal claim was made against them, based on a law that they knew nothing about.
It also seems unfair that traditionally, lawyers would then charge vast amounts of money to defend the case and not even help to prevent the problem from happening again. That’s why I founded rradar, a company that believes businesses deserve better from the law.
In a survey of small businesses, the Legal Services Board found that over half of their SME respondents reported a loss of income, contracts, reputation, performance or employees because of legal action in the previous year, yet more than half of those surveyed chose to handle things with no legal advice or support.
The lesson from both this report and our clients is that businesses want to try and handle legal/regulatory matters themselves, but they also need support, resources and training so they know how to avoid these costly losses. We’re there to bridge this gap.
We passionately believe that businesses deserve to understand the law from the day they’re founded, not just when a legal claim is made against them. They also deserve easy-to-access legal support delivered through a variety of channels to suit them.
If legal problems do arise, clients deserve expert advice to help them recover quickly AND guidance on how to manage or prevent any future legal problems. This isn’t what normal law firms do – but it’s what rradar does.
From a start-up only a few years ago in my Yorkshire based home, focussed on my own expert business defence knowledge, we’re now moving towards the 100-employee mark and have a market-leading, disruptive legal product with global technological backing.
We also provide legal services to a business insurance product which gives SMEs all-round risk protection and this successful partnership with a huge sector giant was reinforced by our win at the Claims Excellence Awards 2017. We were thrilled that a start-up from Hull could topple international legal giants who would usually win this type of award.
As an SME, you may have heard of big news topics like cyber security or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or might have a good idea about HR procedures and contracts. However, if you base your strategy on ‘a good idea’, word of mouth or internet searches, you won’t usually get far in court.
Yes, SMEs want to get on with their growth plans quickly and with minimal legal costs, but we also know that they want to avoid legal disputes, fines and prison sentences. We arm businesses with the tools and knowledge they need to spot and manage risk at an affordable price.
Who do we help? In short, everybody! rradar supports businesses from start-up sole trader to international corporation, at any stage in their business lives, across all industries, sectors and regulators. Construction to transport, public sector to retail, consultancy to hospitality; we want to support everyone to thrive!
Our award-winning initiatives include training and risk management programmes, e-learning, webinars, podcasts, telephone and email advice, crisis lines and a huge online resource of articles, guidance and easy-to use templates for any business type or employee.
SMEs and their employees need this instant support and as we’re in the market for ‘disrupting’ legal services, we have also created an incredible world first – an AI machine-learning, virtual legal assistant called ‘rradargrace’, built with IBM Watson technology.
rradargrace gives businesses immediate access to legal support whenever they need it, whether they’re out on site, in the boardroom or in their office. She’s got questions and answers, prepared by our experts to help businesses get the information they need. She’ll grow and develop, bringing understanding and reassurance to millions of business owners and employees.
From my initial concept of delivering fair, understandable and supportive legal services to businesses, we now have incredible future plans, a brand new inspirational Hull HQ, two other national offices, opportunities to support millions of business individuals, constant recruitment for growth and a technological revolution in the form of rradargrace.
I’m passionate about the company we’ve built and our innovative, expert ability to help any SME, at any stage in its growth.
Please call 0800 955 6111 or email [email protected] to learn how we can support your business too.
Gary Gallen CEO of rradar
