In law school, my second career, I looked around and saw a huge inequity. That inequity was the middle class. It appeared to me that there were legal services available for the very poor and of course the upper class could afford the lawyer of their choice.
But, what about the working class dog? The person that works so very hard to feed their family. Quite simply, they made too much money for free legal services and yet not enough to pay for a full service lawyer.
With technology changing our world, it only made sense that the legal world would follow. So, "un-bundled" legal services became available. Services that address a single issue, have a single price point and end the professional relationship once the issue is resolved. Self-help legal, so to speak, with lawyer assistance and advice but with drastically reduced pricing and no large retainers needed.
A COMPLETE UPGRADE FROM DIY SOURCES SUCH AS Legalzoom.com, etc....
Traditional brick and mortar law firms remain the keystone of the legal community and virtual, single need online legal services are the newest renovation.
What that means is an entirely new way of providing legal services to every class - especially the middle class.
Criminal lawyers have been pricing like this for centuries, a no holds barred, no surprises way of billing. It works. Everything is upfront and defined from the very beginning. Fees are direct and the legal product and scope of a lawyer's duties are clearly defined.
When you add this concept to the online world the result is affordable legal services for everyone.
While some issues are really too complex for this type of service, many of the very basic needs are met and they are met with the peace of mind for the client. They are comforted knowing what has transpired is sourced from a fully licensed attorney within their own jurisdiction.
Another plus to virtual legal services is that the client becomes more involved in their own outcome. So many times the simple allusion of "no control" increases an already stressful situation for clients. This results in increased and unnecessary phone calls, emails, drop-ins to the attorney's office which poorly affects a professional's productivity and often leaves a client feeling ignored or unimportant when that is furthest from the truth. Active involvement helps to alleviate some of the down time in lengthy legal matters and assists in reducing excess nervous energy.
The change is slow coming and difficult for such a traditional institution as the law, but it is coming. It is not because lawyers don't invite change, goodness we love arguing about it after all! It is because the institution of law must protect established laws and rights, thus, must create new laws for each growth spurt of technology. That is not an easy or fast task and with the rate of technology, like almost every other profession, the law is trying to play catch up.
It will get there. It is getting there. Stay tuned.
Practitioners: for more information on Virtual Law go to- http://virtuallawpractice.org
Need legal help in New York? Come see me at www.LawForUsAll.com
Until next time - D. Meindok, Esq.