Bukalapak and Justika Release a Legal Consultation Feature

E-commerce company Bukalapak collaborates with startup Justika to provide legal consulting services to mentoring. The market segment in this sector is still considered wide open. A study conducted by The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) shows that 71% of Indonesians who experience legal problems choose not to do anything.

The availability of legal services in Indonesia is also considered unequal. Because the ratio between the number of people and lawyers is 1: 4,325. Therefore, Bukalapak launched a legal consulting service with one of its features, namely TanyaHukum. The existence of online platform innovations such as TanyaHukum can expand the role of law in people’s lives and in turn, will improve the nation’s legal culture.

“There are still many people who see legal services as complex, exclusive, and difficult to reach because many lawyers gather in big cities. With this innovation, it is hoped that people’s perceptions will change and in the future will be more empowered in dealing with legal problems,” said Rivai Kusumanegara, S.H., Deputy Secretary General of the Indonesian Advocates Association.

Tanyahukum as a Legal Solution for Society

Victor Lesmana, Director of Payment, Fintech, and Virtual Products Bukalapak said, with this feature, it is hoped that it can help people overcome the obstacles they experience when they need legal assistance.

“We continue to develop innovations in all of our products and services, with the hope that the Bukalapak platform can be used by all levels of Indonesian society to find solutions for their various needs,” he said.

“It is hoped that it can help the community overcome the obstacles they experience when they need legal assistance,” said Director of Payment, Fintech, and Virtual Products Bukalapak Victor Lesmana as quoted from a press release yesterday (22/9).

TanyaHukum connects Justika’s service with 90 million Bukalapak users. It includes three core services, namely consultation, document preparation, and legal assistance. Users can consult with dozens of lawyers, either by telephone, chat, or face-to-face.

Justika is a Subsidiary of Hukumonline

Justika is a legal services marketplace, a subsidiary of Hukumonline. This startup provides automated telephone consulting services. “We have only touched a small part of society,” said CEO Justika Melvin. However, Justika has a database of hundreds of lawyers. In addition, received hundreds of case complaints.

Justika received Pre Series A funding at the beginning of last year. The law firm Assegaf Hamzah & Partners (AHP) participated in the investment. Justika’s parent company, Hukumonline, also completed further series A funding from investors from the United States (US), the Emerging Media Opportunity Fund (EMOF) earlier this year.

This additional capital will be used to develop more products. Based on data from the ASEAN Legaltech Association in 2019, there are 88 legal technology (legaltech) companies registered in Southeast Asia. As many as 25 of them are based in Singapore and 21 in Indonesia.

Bukalapak is Focused on Sustainable Business Growth

On the one hand, Bukalapak does focus on providing various services on the platform. Bukalapak President Teddy Oetomo had said that the company no longer relied on promotional strategies or ‘burn money’ to encourage transactions. This startup is focused on sustainable business growth.

“We are looking for solutions and innovations that are needed by society,” said Teddy, some time ago (11/9). “We are reducing massive money burning, and the market share is relatively stable.”

Bukalapak CEO Rachmat Kaimuddin added, the company was no longer “struggling” to catch up with the level of visits in the last two years. “We cannot always focus on growth alone, while the solution does not produce sustainable added value,” he said. Moreover, Bukalapak plans to list its initial public offering (IPO) on the stock exchange. “Naturally, startups want an IPO. This is in line with our aspirations for sustainable growth,” he said. He is optimistic that the company can gain access to potential markets with a