Lawsuit Claims LegalZoom Is Practicing Law Without a License 246
Bob the Super Hamste writes "Fortune has an interesting piece about a federal class action law suit against LegalZoom claiming that its software is illegally practicing law without a license. The law suit seeks to recover money from LegalZoom for every resident in Missouri who has used LegalZoom regardless of how satisfied the users were of the service. Currently Missouri law states that an individual who paid money to a non lawyer for legal services is entitled to sue the provider for 3 times the amount paid."
No (Score:4, Informative)
The statute was obviously intended to deal with fake lawyers - yes there are people who will brave the social opprobrium of claiming to be a lawyer in exchange for money. However, provided that the website doesn't itself produce wills, deeds or other legal instruments, it should be in the clear.
This is a grey area - the law could have benefits in preventing the automatic generation of, say, RIAA-type fishing expedition claim documents. It would be interesting if a real lawyer were to comment on the EULA issue; there is probably a good reason why it is excluded.
Re:Life in the post-Watson world. (Score:4, Informative)
A lawyer got burned is what happened.
Chances are there was a group of lawyers that sat around in an overly expensive office and drafted (read, photocopied) paperwork for six figure salaries. They then found a website that threatened to do everything they did for free. Now having lots of free time they decide to actually use their education and sue their competition out of existence.
Lesson: Never automate a lawyers or a congressman job. You can automate and outsource the entire rest of the country, but if you even look wrong at those professions you will be sued out of existence.
Re:As long as they sue the software itself (Score:5, Informative)
The precedent is this:
in 1978 the Missouri Supreme Court ... reviewed a case in which Missouri bar authorities sought to punish the sellers of a divorce kit that consisted of nothing but blank legal forms and instruction booklets for filling them out. The court ruled that merely marketing such materials did not amount to practicing law absent "personal advice as to legal remedies or the consequences of flowing therefrom."
A booklet instructing you how to fill out legal forms is not legal advice, according to that ruling. Neither then is software that instructs you on how to fill in the blanks on a computerized legal form.
Re:Occupational Licensure - Incumbent Wage Protect (Score:2, Informative)
Damn wage protections. Like those stupid licensed Civil engineers. Anyone should be able to design a building for occupancy by the public. If that building falls down in a 20mph wind and kills everyone inside it doesn't matter because licensing isn't about making sure they are knowledgeable but in fact wage protection!
And what about those barbers and manicurists, who cares if they don't know what they are doing and they sever a major artery while shaving your, or the manicurist triggers an infection that results in your hands being amputated. It's just wage protection.
Plumbers are the worst in this, it shouldn't matter that if they don't know what they are doing the sewage will back-flow into the sinks or that if they calculate pressure wrong the pipe could explode and kill anyone standing next to it. Just stupid wage protection.
Electricians are just as bad, who cares if turning on a light switch could electrocute you. That they might electrify your toilet so that attempting to use it could kill you is only a minor problem, just wage protection!
And pharmacists, after all they only count pills, it shouldn't matter if two different doctors prescribe drugs that will kill you if taken together. That's your fault for going to separate doctors. And those drugs that have to be mixed in the pharmacy? Why you just hire some 15 year old to eyeball it. Doesn't matter if they get the dosage wrong and your arm dies. Minor problems, it's all about wage protection!
You are a FOOL. License in any profession exists because at some point in the past someone was either killed, maimed or severely harmed. Ensuring that certain professions are staffed by not only knowledgeable but competent people is essential to life safety of the general public because the general public isn't smart enough to see a bearing wall and ceiling sagging that indicates a design flaw that will result in the roof caving in and killing the occupants. That you can't see why licensed professions exist should point you to where YOUR problems lie.