How it works
From a legal question to a lawyer, step by step
From the first need to payment, step by step.
For clients
If you are looking for a lawyer
You do not need to know how to name your problem in legal terms. The area and the canton are enough to start.
- Step 1 of 5
- Step 2 of 5
- Step 3 of 5
- Step 4 of 5
- Step 5 of 5
Step 1 of 5
Say what you need
Search freely, or filter by area of law and canton. No account is needed at this stage.
Step 2 of 5
Compare profiles
Rate, languages, canton of registration, practice areas and biography. Set aside the ones that interest you.
Step 3 of 5
Book an appointment
Choose a service and, for an appointment, its length and a time in the lawyer's calendar, then describe your situation and sign the consultation terms. The price follows the rate shown on the profile, with the service fee on top, announced before you confirm.
Step 4 of 5
Work together
Messaging, documents and video calls, inside the mandate. Further appointments are booked from the mandate, without describing everything again.
Step 5 of 5
Pay when you book
The funds are held by the platform and paid to the lawyer once the consultation has taken place and you confirm the work. On a time-based mandate, the unused balance becomes a credit on your account.
For lawyers
If you are a lawyer
Verification is manual and it is the heart of the service. It takes a little time, deliberately.
- Step 1 of 4
- Step 2 of 4
- Step 3 of 4
- Step 4 of 4
Step 1 of 4
Create your profile
Registration number, canton, practice areas, languages, indicative rate and biography.
Step 2 of 4
Have your registration verified
We check your registration against the cantonal register you name, and we keep the name of that register and the date.
Step 3 of 4
Answer requests
You accept a booking, decline it or propose another time. Messaging opens once the mandate is paid. You remain free to turn a matter down.
Step 4 of 4
Work, and be paid
Your fee is paid to you in full. The ora. service fee is charged to the client, on its own line; the two amounts are never merged.
What never changes
Professional secrecy
What you write to a lawyer on ora. belongs to their relationship with you. The platform is built so that no member of ora. staff reaches the content of a matter in the normal course of events, and so that any exceptional access leaves a permanent record.
What is built in
Verification done by hand
An administrator consults the cantonal register the lawyer names, and we keep the name of the register and the date of the consultation.
Professional secrecy
A matter is visible to its client and to verified lawyers whose practice areas match it. There is no general administrative access to matter content in the product.
Two amounts, never one
The lawyer's fee and the ora. service fee stay separate everywhere they appear, from the booking to the invoice.
French and English
Both languages throughout, with translated addresses: /avocats and /lawyers are the same page.
Swiss hosting
Data stays in Switzerland, in the Zurich region.
Two-sided reviews
Reviews are tied to a completed engagement, and both sides review each other.
Questions people ask
Who sees what I write?
Only the lawyer you chose. There is no call for bids: your request is neither published nor passed to other lawyers, other clients and visitors cannot see it, and no ora. employee accesses it in the normal course of business.
How is a lawyer verified?
Every applicant gives their registration number for a cantonal bar register. An administrator consults that register by hand, and we keep the name of the register consulted and the date of the consultation. A profile only becomes visible to clients once that check is done.
Can the verification badge be out of date?
It is only shown while the verification stands: if it is withdrawn, or the account is suspended, the profile disappears from results immediately. The date the register was last consulted is on the profile, so you can judge how recent it is yourself.
What if the lawyer is not right for me?
Before you book, nothing commits you: comparing profiles and writing to a lawyer are free. After a first consultation you owe nothing further, and you can instruct someone else. If a lawyer sends you an offer for a mandate that does not suit you, you decline it and nothing is charged.
Can I cancel or move an appointment?
Yes, from your mandate, and the amount is shown before you confirm. Cancelling more than 24 hours before the appointment refunds the lawyer's fee and the service fee in full, between 24 and 2 hours before by half, and nothing under 2 hours. Moving the appointment is free more than 24 hours before, and once inside that window; after that, the lawyer has to accept the new time. If the lawyer cancels or does not show up, the fee and the service fee are refunded in full.
Can a lawyer be on ora. without a Swiss bar registration?
No. Registration on a cantonal bar register is checked before a profile is published, and it is what the verification rests on.
Starting commits you to nothing
Looking for a lawyer and comparing profiles is free and needs no account. You decide only when you book, with the price and the service fee in front of you.