Written by Tom Gordon
Daniel Fisher of Forbes.com spoke with us recently about the problems with unauthorized practice of law restrictions. He went on to write this column about how the vagueness of UPL laws makes it impossible for service providers to know whether they are providing services legally if those services are even tangentially related to law. The column gives some excellent examples of the legal challenges businesses have faced as they provide services in estate planning, finance, and traffic violation resolution, among others areas. One point we'd like to add to Fisher's analysis is that the challenges faced by businesses become challenges faced by consumers. When businesses cannot provide these services, consumers are stuck with two options: hire an expensive lawyer to help them with writing a will or fighting a traffic ticket, or take on the matter without assistance of any kind. Consumers deserve the choice to hire expert assistance for important life decisions, regardless of whether the expertise comes from a lawyer, financial planner, online software designers, or any other service provider. Tom Gordon is Executive Director of Responsive Law.
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Written by Tom Gordon
A Kentucky woman convicted of unauthorized practice of law will be appealing (subscription required) the $5,000 fine handed down by the Kentucky Supreme Court for her actions. Della Tarpinian operates what she describes as a scrivener service. Her customers, who need someone to prepare simple legal documents for them, fill out questionnaires which Tarpinian uses to complete fill-in-the-blank legal forms. Document preparation services are licensed and regulated in states such as California and Arizona, providing clear guidelines as to what services non-lawyers may provide. In other states, however, vague definitions of the practice of law leave the legality of these services in a gray area. As a result, consumers do not have the benefit of a robust marketplace providing document preparation services. A recent New York Times article describes advances that allow computers do much of the work lawyers do in complex litigation where there are millions of documents and emails that need to be reviewed before trial. But computers can also help simplify everyday legal matters such as wills, divorces, and bankruptcies.
Intellectual property lawyer Graham Syfert was hearing from a lot of defendants in cases about illegal downloading. For many of these people, the amount plaintiffs were seeking from them was substantial, but less than what he would charge them just to begin working on their case. In a savvy business move that also benefits consumers, Syfert began selling forms that would help these people represent themselves. The forms, along with instructions, were priced at $9.99, which is far less than any lawyer would charge.
The New Jersey State Bar Association's Advisory Committees on Professional Ethics and Attorney Advertising issued a joint opinion on March 26th effectively banning lawyers from creating virtual law offices. The decision requires every attorney to maintain a permanent address. This comes as virtual law offices, in which the attorney maintains an online or "virtual" law office and rents office space as needed, are growing in popularity. According to New Jersey State Bar Chief Allen Etish, "[t]he need for a bona fide office is necessary," while acknowledging "that the idea of a virtual office needs more study," noting that virtual law offices are "not totally wild-eyed or preposterous."
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