AskAbogado: Making the Connection Between Lawyers and Clients
In early March 2025, Gian Yap was looking for a lawyer to help draft a contract in preparation for launching his online business in May. He looked through social media groups and search engines, but it was either a challenge to get contact information or no one was responding to his inquiries.
"Some were part of a firm, and hiring one seemed quite intimidating to an entrepreneur like me," Yap said.
According to the World Justice Project, only 20 percent of Filipinos are able to access legal help, and of that, only 15 percent are able to get access to lawyers. The reasons could run the gamut of costs, inconvenience, and lack of contact with lawyers. Estimates in 2016 put the ratio of lawyers to Filipinos at one to 2,500. At the Public Attorney’s Office alone, in 2024, the agency’s 2,676 lawyers each handled the cases of 5,631 clients on average.
Through a friend’s social media post, Yap found out about AskAbogado.ph, a new website that connected him with lawyers who could meet his specific legal needs.
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AskAbogado.ph: Addressing a Need
AskAbogado.ph is the brainchild of couple Julia Alexandra Chu and Michal Mazurkiewicz. Chu was among the topnotchers of the 2020-2021 Bar examinations, and Mazurkiewicz is a programmer specializing in start-ups.
The idea stemmed from Mazurkiewicz’s experience of trying to find a legitimate, reliable lawyer by searching online in his native Poland. "It seems strange to me," he told Esquire Philippines, "that you can go on Google Maps to read reviews about restaurants and shops, and yet when you’re faced with a situation when you have to put your life in someone else’s hands, it’s difficult to find data that you can validate."
Julia Alexandra Chu signing the roll of attorneys at the Supreme Court on June 15, 2022, witnessed by her mother Lilian and Michal Mazurkiewicz.
Years later, when he presented the idea to his then-girlfriend, Chu was hesitant, knowing that the code of ethics for lawyers in the Philippines was strict about allowing lawyers to advertise. However, in April 2023, the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability was revised. As the youngest lawyer in her firm, Chu was tasked with getting familiar with it. The new rules addressed their concern: they were no less strict, but lawyers could reveal more about their professional expertise and experience so clients could make an informed choice.
Crowdsourcing Legal Expertise
In preparation for launching the site, the couple sat down in December 2023 to discuss plans for the website, knowing full well the needs they wanted to address.
"There is limited access to legal services in the Philippines. If you don’t personally know someone who knows a lawyer, or can’t afford legal fees or don’t qualify for free legal aid, it can be incredibly difficult," Chu said.
After three years in private practice, Chu left to join the government service in 2024.
"I want to give back and serve the people," she said.
AskAbogado.ph was launched in February 2025 with a roster of 10 lawyers with diverse legal practice areas. Most of them are from Metro Manila, but also from Iloilo, Naga, and Northern Mindanao. Chu personally vetted all of them.
The website allows a prospective client to choose from a drop-down menu of common legal questions or issues (ranging from requirements for opening a business to filing for annulment) and an option to filter lawyers by location. The search returns the profiles of lawyers along with their fees and scheduled availability. After making an appointment, an email with meeting details is sent to the client. Payment options are GCash or online banking through the site. If no lawyers match the specified criteria, suggestions will still be displayed for the user’s consideration.
To access the service, one just needs a stable Internet connection and a laptop or mobile device with a browser. The site has a built-in video conferencing feature.
As of this writing, more than 70 lawyers are accessible through the platform, with lawyers from Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Western Visayas, Davao, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
In terms of online privacy, Mazurkiewicz assures that all personal data are protected, the site is encrypted, no recordings are kept, and URLs expire after a few minutes of inactivity. The lawyers also abide by the attorney-client privilege and confidentiality.
Yap’s experience with the platform was favorable because of the transparency of the information on the site and the ease of accessing legal advice online.
According to Chu, their clients fall into three categories: individuals with everyday legal concerns, MSMEs—which make up 98 percent of businesses in the Philippines—that need a lot of guidance about how different laws apply to them, and people living abroad but with local concerns. The third group includes foreign entities looking to do business or enter into legally binding agreements in the Philippines, as well as Filipinos based abroad who need clarity on how to comply with legal issues at home.
The couple describes this as a dream project that they, with their combined expertise, are able to build together to address a very real and urgent need.
They envision more lawyers from other regions joining the platform to address underserved areas so clients can have more freedom to choose the lawyer that best fits their needs.
