Obtaining free legal advice via videolink access points will soon be a reality across Oxfordshire, thanks to new Witney-based firm Legal Advice Direct Solicitors. Officially launched by Witney MP David Cameron last month, the Internet-based system will mean, initially, that isolated and vulnerable people can get advice through their local family centres.

However, this is only a first step for the system's owner - solicitor and social welfare entrepreneur Marlan Higgins.

It has cost £50,000 to develop to date and he has paid for most of it himself. He intends to license its use in various fields and eventually hopes to provide a free online advice in various areas of law and accountancy.

As a result, Mr Higgins has set up several companies in addition to LAD Solicitors.

These include Direct Audiovisual Audio Communications, which researches and develops the software, Accountants Direct Services, Employment Lawyers Direct, Conveyancing Lawyers Direct and a non-profit-making company called the Social Welfare Network.

In essence, the software he has developed creates a virtual firm on-line, with different areas where clients can meet advisors, or advisors can meet each other.

Clients log onto the service, where they will be greeted by a receptionist, who will take details and filter them to the correct advisor.

Mr Higgins said: "What we've created is a call centre operating system If the advisor you want is not there, the receptionist can forward you to someone else who can."

Currently, Legal Advice Direct will enable people to access solicitors working in various fields including housing, community care, family law, employment, welfare, education, mental health and public law.

They will also be able to get debt/money advice. Once you have reached the advisor, you receive half an hour of free advice for your problem. You will also be told if you are likely to qualify for legal aid.

Webcams are being set up at the Cuddesdon Corner Family Centre in Blackbird Leys and the Ace Family Centre in Chipping Norton.

They are also planned for the Sunshine Family Centre in Banbury and the Spring Board Family Centre in Carterton.

Mr Higgins added: "We're in discussion with the county council about rolling out a minimum of 12 centres.

"Six of those will probably be in family centres and six in libraries and other places like Henley, Wantage, Abingdon and Woodstock."

He also plans to open up offices in Banbury and Oxford by the end of the year, which will also be access points for potential clients.

"This is not just for the socially excluded, people who are eligible for legal aid - it's also about opening the network up.

"What we recognised after having meetings with the local authority was that there is a huge middle class that is not eligible for legal aid, but cannot afford private legal rates," Mr Higgins said.

"But yet they are tax payers who are supporting the legal aid system. In this way, at least they will be able to get half an hour free and discover whether it is worth proceeding with a case."

The system can also piggy-back' onto the back of a network used by schools, universities and conferencing systems.

By the end of the year, it should also allow for recording of interviews. The system also allows anyone who is logged in to hold video conferences through a pre-arranged appointment.

Up to eight people can meet up, share files and view the same Internet pages, so its potential applications are wide.

Through the Social Welfare Network, Mr Higgins is hoping to share free superfast broadband with local not-for-profit organisations via a system called Janet 5.

The offices are due to be wired up by the summer. But who will pay for it?

Mr Higgins said: "The funding will come from things like the National Lottery, local authorities, the legal services commission and any other funding streams."

Mr Higgins first came up with the idea of providing free advice via videoconferencing while a partner at Cowley-based firm Turpin, Miller and Higgins, but his vision and that of his partners did not mesh, so he has moved on.

He is finding that working as a solicitor in Witney is very different from his old firm.

"The clientele are completely different and, even though there's a massive need for legal aid in West Oxfordshire, what we also realised was that there were a lot of small businesses that need legal advice regarding employment and contractual issues, so we're seen as a private firm, not just a social and legal aid firm."

Eventually, Mr Higgins hopes to roll out Legal Advice Direct nationwide, using solicitors and other advice firms up and down the country, to fulfil his dream of enabling rural and vulnerable communities everywhere to have greater access to free legal advice.

Who says you can't be an entrepreneur and socially aware?

n Contact: Legal Advice Direct Solictors, 01993 700 434, www.lad-solicitors.co.uk