Just as we leave home with our buckets and spades, FindLaw UK launches. Originally an independent site where you could … well … find (US) law, FindLaw has been part of the Thomson Reuters empire for some years now and the UK site, like it’s US cousin, is “primarily a collection of free legal resources for consumers”; in other words it’s a site designed to drive consumers into the arms of lawyers.

Per the Official FindLaw [US] Blog:

It includes many helpful articles with free legal information; a question-and-answer community forum; news feeds provided by Reuters; and tools to help consumers find a solicitor to assist them with their legal issue via FindLaw UK’s Contact Law service. FindLaw UK also reaches out to the legal professional audience, with a Solicitor Marketing area discussing tools and strategies for solicitors to enhance their online presence.

With over 5000 pages of content already in place, FindLaw UK is ready for its new audience. Legal consumers in the UK are seeking more extensive and reliable legal information from the Internet, beyond that available from an array of existing sites that contain largely leaflet information. The site will fill what consumers perceive to be a void in quality, free, UK-focused legal content.

The content developed for FindLaw UK focuses on the legal topic areas most sought after by UK legal consumers, including employment, personal finance, and community issues. The site’s content is arranged around life events like getting married or buying property, rather than strictly by legal practice area, to help consumers narrow their search more quickly. And of course, as with FindLaw.com, FindLaw.co.uk will be a living online destination that continues to grow over time.

FindLaw UK expands upon the work of FindLaw’s Solicitor blog, which has been keeping consumers informed on relevant UK law for more than a year and a half now. With the new site we look forward to expanding our UK audience to reach the many consumers seeking legal information, or a quality solicitor.

On the plus side it has been professionally put together for FindLaw by Robert Clarkson and his team. The blog is well written, the articles are sensibly selected from (in the main) public sources and the the FindLaw team provides competent answers to forum questions rather than leaving the blind to lead the blind.

But it’s uninspiring and unoriginal and will add little to human web-happiness. Let’s be honest this site exists to churn out “good” content which will be well regarded by Google, attracting punters who won’t find answers on the site but many of whom will ultimately use the Contact Law (or other) service on the site thus earning FindLaw commissions.

At least there are no embarrassing splogs yet.