Online legal form websites – a follow-up
In addition to my post las night about the Consumer Reports’ review of online legal form websites, I’ve issued two press releases on the subject:
- Do-it-yourself Legal Form Websites are no Match for a Pro, Says a New Consumer Reports Study. Attorney Michael J. Evans Says the Reason is Simple
- Real People Need Real Lawyers Says Attorney Michael J. Evans, Commenting On Consumer Reports Review of Legal Do-It-Yourself Websites
I strongly believe that these Robo-Lawyer sites are a major consumer issue, and the Consumer Reports review gives us a chance to educate the public about the potential pitfalls of these sites offering free or cheap online legal forms. Tangentially, it’s also an attorney marketing issue, because these sites are taking clients away from lawyers.
But the main problem I have with the Robo-Lawyers is that they can cause tremendous harm to their customers by creating important legal documents that may, or may not, be valid. For example, if your father wanted you to receive certain assets when he died, would you feel comfortable relying on a will created by an elderly non-lawyer using a form found on the Internet.
Because I feel so strongly about this issue, I’m asking for lawyers to serve as guest bloggers about the pitfalls of online forms. If your law practice involves creating legal documents that can be obtained free or at low-cost from a Robo-Lawyer website, please contact me. I want to find some lawyers who can write a blog post for my this blog, giving concrete examples of the potential pitfalls of these Robo-Lawyer websites. And I may use portions of the guest blog posts in press releases to spread the word to as many consumers as possible.
About Michael J. Evans
