Young Entrepreneur’s Legal Service Startup Started With Rs 4.5 Lakh Achieves Rs 1.5 Crore Turnover in Two Years

Shreya Neeraj Sharma, only 25, has already made a name for herself in the legal field with her company, Rest The Case (RTC). This online service helps people connect with lawyers all over India.

Based in Pune, RTC started in 2021 with an investment of Rs. 4.5 lakh. In just two years, the company's turnover has touched Rs. 1.5 crore. RTC makes it easy for people to find the right lawyer.

Shreya Neeraj Sharma started Rest the Case in 2021 with a single employee (Photos: Special Arrangement)

Clients can join for free and choose from about 1500 verified lawyers on the RTC platform to solve their legal issues. They also get free legal templates and can have online consultations with lawyers, either through video or audio.

The RTC website offers easy-to-understand legal guides, Bare Acts, the latest legal news, and lots more.


They even offer free templates for all sorts of things – from business and finance to personal matters like marriage, wills, and property. Plus, you can find tips for law students, details about internships, and more.

RTC started small in 2021 in a room in Shreya's house in Viman Nagar, Pune. It was just Shreya and one more person who was making brochures to reach out to lawyers.

Now, they have grown to a team of 15, working in a big 1500 sq.ft. office in the same area. Members of the teams do different jobs including marketing, SEO, graphic design, content writing, sales, and customer service.

Shreya named the company 'Rest The Case' because that's what judges say when a case is closed.

She remembers the early days of her business with a smile. “After we made our first brochure, I had to find lawyers' phone numbers, fix meetings, and then go and meet them personally. It was tough, because they were all more experienced than me,” says Shreya.

Shreya spoke to lawyers in Pune initially and convinced them to join Rest the Case

“I had to meet many of them several times to convince them about Rest The Case and how it could bring them more clients. In the beginning, I only talked to lawyers in Pune because I had to visit each one's office to explain our service."

Shreya shares a story about a lady lawyer she met. The lawyer thought Rest The Case was just a hobby for Shreya and told her to get a regular job.

“It was hard to make her see what I was trying to do. She never joined us, but she did teach me how to sell my idea better,” says Shreya.

After they had a good foothold in Pune, Shreya expanded to other cities. “Once lawyers in Pune started joining RTC, we moved to Delhi, Mumbai, and then other cities,” she explains.

“In our first month, we had about 20-25 lawyers. In 6-7 months, we reached 100 lawyers in Pune. That's when we decided to expand to other cities.”

RTC's business model is straightforward. They have about 1500 verified lawyers from all over India. The RTC team checks each lawyer's credentials with their bar council numbers to make sure they are genuine.

They also do Zoom calls, Google Meets, or meet them in person before adding them to their website. Lawyers can join RTC by filling out a form on their website, choosing a package, and sharing their specialisations.

Clients can reach RTC through their website or by calling their office. “Clients tell us their problem, and then our team finds them the right lawyer nearby,” Shreya explains.

RTC offers three yearly packages for lawyers, costing Rs. 60,000, Rs. 90,000, or Rs. 1.20 lakh. Depending on the package, lawyers get around 60 to 200 leads a year.

They can even pay the fees in EMIs. RTC gives more benefits to those who choose bigger packages, like making their profiles stand out, writing blogs, doing interviews, and promoting them on social media.

Rest the Case team members with Shreya

About 30% of RTC's lawyers have five years of experience, 50% have more than five years, and 20% have over 15 years.

RTC gets around 200 to 250 leads a week. They match these leads with lawyers based on their specialisation and location, and the number of leads a lawyer gets depends on their package.

RTC mostly deals with divorce cases and property disputes. Shreya shares that they got the most number of divorce cases during the Covid period. They have clients from around 200 cities in India, including big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Allahabad, Bangalore, Chennai, and Kolkata.

Shreya, as the CEO of RTC, handles everything – from planning and operations to meeting and connecting with lawyers. RTC has lawyers from the Supreme Court, district courts, and high courts too.

Since starting in 2021, RTC has helped about 2500 clients. Shreya's first client was a lady who found RTC on Google and needed a divorce lawyer. This client told Shreya later that trusting RTC was a risk that paid off, making Shreya realise she was doing something meaningful.

RTC markets itself through Google ads, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, social media influencers, and podcasts. They even have a podcast on Spotify called ‘Legally Speaking With Rest The Case’, where they simplify legal stuff for the common public.

Shreya lives with her big joint family in Pune, including her parents, grandparents, uncle, aunts, and cousins.

Her family is into different businesses like Lexicon International School, a preschool chain, Lexicon Management Institute of Leadership and Excellence, the fitness chain Multi Fit, and a baby care product brand named Citta.

Shreya finished her Class 12 from Lexicon International School in Pune in 2016. She then went to Cardiff University for her LLB honours degree, finishing in 2021.

Shreya's younger sister Mayara Sharma is a professional golfer

She also did a four-month Harvard Summer School program after Class 11. While at Cardiff, she decided to start her own law firm and registered Rest The Case in July 2021.

Shreya's younger sister, Mayara Sharma, is a professional golfer. Talking about her childhood, Shreya says, “We weren't just given whatever we wanted. We used to go to our parents' office during holidays and see how hard they worked. I learned a lot from my parents. They taught me that no work is too small and to always try my best.”

Now, she's channelling all those lessons into RTC, and it's really taking off. - ©TWL