DIY Legal Software Reviewed In NY Times

Written by Tom Gordon

Recently, the New York Times did consumers a great service by reviewing self-help legal products. That review can be found here. A follow-up blog post on the article can also be found here. While it's true, as was noted in the article and the blog, that not every consumer is best served by DIY software, not every consumer is best served by a lawyer either. Consumers are best served when there is a wide range of legal services available to meet the continuum of legal needs that they face.

​What's missing in the current model of the profession is a wide selection of options between full service and self service. In medicine, nurse practitioners, physicians' assistants, and midwives are among the options that people can use when dealing with health issues. Unfortunately, the legal profession has very few professionals occupying this middle ground. More states need to follow the lead of California and Arizona in licensing legal document assistants and legal document preparers--non-lawyers with training to prepare simple legal documents. Also, lawyers need to be more innovative in providing mid-level services. For example, more lawyers need to make themselves available for review of DIY forms, or to draft documents for self-represented litigants, or to provide short coaching sessions to small claims litigants.
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The bottom line is that consumers need more options in how to navigate a legal system that is too complex, and that they need to be educated about how to best use the services that do exist. That is why we're working to make the legal system more affordable and accessible for its users by educating consumers and influencing policy around the customer-friendly practice of law.