Dibbs develops one-stop shop to advise e-commerce clients

Dibb Lupton Alsop is launching a one-stop shop for e-commerce clients to help them develop their businesses online.

The service - dubbed dla.net - is being backed by lawyers from across the firm, including teams from IT and telecommunications, corporate tax and venture capital.

In addition to helping entrepreneurs advance their dot com ideas, it will help new dot coms to raise finance and guide them through the process of setting up on the internet.

Dibbs also aims to help established companies move their businesses on to the internet.

Each client using the dla.net service will be assigned its own business and legal adviser.

Corporate tax partner Trevor James will lead the new venture.

He says: "Taking a brilliant e-business idea and converting it into a successful and thriving business takes more than just enterprise and initiative.

"For many start-ups the prospect of raising finance and understanding the legal intricacies of setting up a business can be daunting."

Dibbs is also developing a network of venture capitalists, accountants and e-businesses which will meet regularly to exchange ideas.

"We identified that we had a lot of e-commerce expertise in the firm and clients were asking us to bring it together like this," says James.

London firm Field Fisher Waterhouse launched a similar service last year called Incubator, and teamed up with Simmons & Simmons and Eversheds to develop MatchCo - a site which aims to match e-commerce entrepreneurs with investors and provide legal and business advice.