Comments on: Unbundled Legal Services Or Self-Represented Consumers? You Decide.

By: No Lawyer available for 2.5 million legal problems per year « zappx blog

No Lawyer available for 2.5 million legal problems per year « zappx blog — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:41:16 +0000

[...] Read the complete article by Jay Fleishman at LegalPracticePro [...]

By: law advice

law advice — Wed, 12 May 2010 13:41:12 +0000

The only solution Newyork government should think over this and they can allocate supportive sources to handle that type of problems.Some of the references to this type of service are found in ethics opinions.

By: richardgranat

richardgranat — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:25:02 +0000

Jay- you are right on target. For years I have been talking about the latent market for legal services and how consumers are turning away from lawyers to lesser alternatives like legalzoom.com. I think the legal profession is leaving lots of money on the table. Our DirectLaw virtual law firm services is specifically designed to support "unbundled legal services" such as legal forms bundled with legal advice. In my experience, a little legal advice can save a pro se party a great deal of work and a lot of mistakes. I have a course on this topic at http://www.solopracticeuniversity.com where I expand on these ideas.

By: richardgranat

richardgranat — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:25:02 +0000

By: kbladow

kbladow — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:20:08 +0000

Jay - Great post. In 2005 or so, the Bellow Sacks Civil Access to Justice Project published a report that suggested a mixed-model system would be a cost effective and successful method to increase access to justice for both low- and moderate-income households. (http://www.zorza.net/Bellow-Sacks/Text.pdf) To make that mixed model work, both attorneys willing to unbundle their services as well as additional funding for legal aid are required; however, several additional methods, such as self-help, pro bono, and technology, were also included.Also noteworthy, companies aren't the only providers of self-help materials. Many legal aid organizations, pro bono programs, and courts are providing legal information and resources to the public. In fact, the Legal Services Corporation, the federal legal aid funder, requires every grantee to contribute to what is known as a "statewide legal information website." A list of the state websites is available at http://www.lawhelp.org. Also, many programs and courts are developing interactive forms using LexisNexis HotDocs and A2J Author. The New York Courts are leaders in this area (http://bit.ly/2ZdiM2). This summer they launched a series of forms to help people fill out court forms for several areas with especially high numbers of self-represented litigants. - K

By: JayFleischman

JayFleischman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:18:25 +0000

Good point, Paul. This is essentially the position taken in the 2004 Unified Court System report. The problem is that the steam seems to have gone out of the unbundled movement in the past few years, particularly in New York. Some lawyers have begun to use the "virtual law office" model for online delivery of legal services in the estate planning niche, but not much else.Isn't it time for the states to recognize that the public should be permitted to pick and choose the level of service to be provided based on need and financial ability?

By: Paul Weinberger

Paul Weinberger — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:01:34 +0000

I think Family Law is fruitful area for unbundled services, for example, modifying child support orders. Many middle class folk cannot afford full retainers but I believe would pay for form drafting and an hour or two of coaching.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:43:11 +0000

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