Cartier Women's Initiative Awards

Bettina Götzenberger: “The law at the service of citizens”

In Spain, as in many other countries, obtaining sound legal advice can be a complicated and costly process. Bettina Götzenberger aims to change all that with her idea of legal consultation shops that makes legal advice from qualified professionals more accessible, and available at predefined, fixed prices.

Bettina spent most of her childhood in Germany before moving back to her native Spain. Following a spell as a German translator, she eventually retrained as a lawyer, completing a post-graduate degree in international commercial law in 1990. After building experience in several firms, she founded Ideandum, a business specializing in legal and investment services, in 2003.

In 2005, Bettina came up with a new idea for a “low cost” law firm. “I saw that a lot of services, even massage, were being offered at lower, fixed prices and I thought ‘If they can do that for massage, why can’t I do it for law?! Then I checked whether similar services were offered abroad, and ordered complementary market research in Spain. This confirmed high demand for low cost legal advice. I got to work on LOmasLEGAL right away.”

Providing a concrete service at a fixed price

“I’ve always found that the Spanish legal system was quite inaccessible,” says Bettina. “People often wait until the very last minute before seeking advice because they do not know who to turn to or how much it will cost.” LOmasLEGAL is based on a simple concept: a team of qualified professionals providing their services to clients on a walk-in basis in legal ‘shops’, as well as over the phone or via internet. Predefined tariffs ensure that there are no unwelcome surprises.

However, Bettina’s goal is not to become just another legal service provider. She also hopes to change the way that people see the law and their rights. “If legal advice is more readily available, people will get into the habit of consulting a lawyer preemptively, before they have a problem.”

By offering flexible working hours, LOmasLEGAL also allows its employees to maintain a career whilst continuing to devote quality time to their personal or family lives. Bettina hopes that this will be particularly attractive to young female lawyers who face particular career vs. family dilemmas.

An international vision

Since its creation LOmasLEGAL has made excellent progress. A series of new shops and franchised stores have been opened, with many more planned. “We’re paying particular attention to areas that attract a lot of foreign investment,” says Bettina. “People coming from abroad, hoping to live, work or invest in Spain will be able to obtain legal advice to prepare for a move or a business venture. Winning the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards would provide us with an invaluable endorsement from a world-renowned brand.”

Having first heard about the Cartier Women’s Initiative Award through another entrepreneurial competition in Spain, Bettina is “thrilled” to have made it through to the finals. “I’ve got great confidence in my business, and I’m just delighted that I’ll have the chance to work with coaches from Cartier and McKinsey as we move to the next, exciting phase of our expansion.”