Online legal help.Think you're ready to ditch ditch (ditching), n the undesirable loss of tooth substance in the region of a restoration margin (usually gingival). your offline lawyer? Think again Before launching her public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most and marketing firm, the M & M Group, Taneshia Nash Laird laird n. Scots The owner of a landed estate. [Scots, from Middle English lard, variant of lord, owner, master; see lord. headed online to find information about setting up her business as a limited liability company (L.L.C.). By doing preliminary research, she knew which questions to ask before she even walked into her attorney's office. For Laird and other entrepreneurs, online legal resources offer a wealth of information for free or for a nominal fee. "I'm sure I've saved thousands of dollars," says Laird. She estimates that she's saved about $3,000--money she would have paid an attorney to provide standard contracts for clients and freelance employees. That's no small change when you're launching a business. With the easy accessibility of online legal services legal services n. the work performed by a lawyer for a client. that provide advice as well as ready-made contracts, some might decide to forgo a consultation with an attorney. But this could be a costly mistake. "Online legal forms make me very nervous," says Catherine J. Lanctot, professor of law at the Villanova, Pennsylvania-based Villanova University School of Law Adjacent to the university campus is Philadelphia’s Main Line. The law school is at the approximate midpoint of east coast legal centers in New York and Washington and only 20 minutes by commuter rail from the center of Philadelphia. . "There's no way for a layperson lay·per·son n. A layman or a laywoman. Noun 1. layperson - someone who is not a clergyman or a professional person layman, secular to know if a standard form can address their individual situation." Lanctot, who is also the author of the Duke Law Journal article "Attorney-Client Relationships in Cyberspace Coined by William Gibson in his 1984 novel "Neuromancer," it is a futuristic computer network that people use by plugging their minds into it! The term now refers to the Internet or to the online or digital world in general. See Internet and virtual reality. Contrast with meatspace. : The Peril The designated contingency, risk, or hazard against which an insured seeks to protect himself or herself when purchasing a policy of insurance. Among the various types of perils for which insurance coverage is available are fire, theft, illness, and death. PERIL. and the Promise," suggests using online services to research what a draft should look like and then consulting a lawyer afterward af·ter·ward also af·ter·wards adv. At a later time; subsequently. Adv. 1. afterward - happening at a time subsequent to a reference time; "he apologized subsequently"; "he's going to the store but he'll be back here with the draft in hand. "The research I do on my own has helped my attorney more than a few times," says Laird. "I've sold a domain name, negotiated the terms myself, and then forwarded a domain name agreement that I purchased for $25 from Law.com to my attorney." Attorney John Ventura of the Rio Grande Rio Grande, city, Brazil Rio Grande (rē`  grän`dĭ), city (1991 pop. Valley, Texas-based Law
Offices of John Ventura believes online legal services can be helpful.
"It's getting a lot of information to a lot of people
inexpensively," he says. "Sometimes you may read enough to
realize you don't need an attorney. Or [the research] helps you
when you meet with the attorney, so that you can get to the heart of the
matter and truly understand what's the best for you." For a
flat fee, Ventura has acted as the advising attorney for both business
owners and consumers at Mycounsel.com, a legal-advice site.
But Lanctot has some concerns. "If someone's giving you legal advice, but they aren't licensed in your state, it's useless," she says, because each state has its own extensive set of laws. She especially cautions those seeking legal advice to make sure that the advice giver is a practicing lawyer, and that it's clear whether they are providing general or specific information. A good place to start is the National Bar Association (www.nationalbar.org). But if the legal site features a disclaimer, then "no one's standing behind the provided information," Lanctot warns. Getting Started If you're interested in online legal services but aren't sure where to start, consider these sites: Research: Bankruptcy Law (www.abiworld.org) >>LexisONE (www.lexisone.com) >>Martindale-Hubble Law Directory (www.lawyers.com) (www.martindale.com) >>Matthew Bender & Co., part of LEXIS Publishing (www.bender.com) >>Westlaw (www.westlaw.com) Resources: LawGuru.com (www.lawguru.com) >>LawInfo.com (www.lawinfo.com) >>LegaldotNet (www.legal.net) >>Nolo (www.nolo.com) Advice: FreeAdvice.com (www.freeadvice.com) >>LegalOpinion.com (www.legalopinion.com) >> Mycounsel.com (www.mycounsel.com) Forms: Law.com (www.law.com) >>LegalZoom (www.legalzoom.com). |
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