Alan Larkin’s Siaro tool unveiled at Resolution National Conference

Family lawyers attending last week’s Resolution National Conference were among the first in the legal profession to get a hands-on experience of the new Siaro legal software.

Designed by Family Law Partners’ Director Alan Larkin and Siaro technical lead Jon Sayers, the tool allows lawyers to securely capture client information on divorce and separation cases before their initial consultation through a ‘guided pathway’ questionnaire.

This information is delivered in a dashboard format and can be updated by both client and lawyer throughout the case. All assets, liabilities and property information is processed to give a clear understanding of finances. Court forms, including Form E, can be instantly populated and chronologies easily generated.

Attracting interest across the family and legal-tech space for its potential to revolutionise the provision of family law services, at Siaro’s core is the harnessing of technology to enable family law experts to offer informed advice at the outset of a first consultation.

Alan Larkin says ‘Six years ago I was looking for a software solution that would make it easier for potential family law clients to instruct the lawyers in my team. I couldn’t find anything so I decided to create my own prototype. This prototype worked so well that we turbo-charged it to become the Siaro platform. The demise of most family legal aid work a few years ago just made me more determined to complete the Siaro project and share it with my family law peers. I am not afraid of the disruptive effects of new technology because I believe the changes can benefit both clients and lawyers. But I passionately believe that family lawyers are best placed to introduce positive disruption with tools like Siaro rather than leave it to others who do not share our skills sets or ethics.’

As the birthplace of Siaro, clients of Family Law Partners have had unique access to the tool for some months. They complete their Siaro profile in their own time – free of charge – and are guided through the process with pop-ups to ensure that they understand why they are being asked the questions.

Future developments for Siaro include the opportunity for data to be anonymised and used to assess case-complexity and make accurate predictions on case lengths and costs. The more users and cases Siaro has, the more powerful the software will become for the legal profession.

Following the Resolution conference, the Siaro team will continue working with their pilot development group before launch later in the year. Firms and family lawyers who are interested in being part of the pilot are invited to visit www.siaro.co.uk and submit their interest.