-Caveat Lector-
Public loses as access to cheap legal help is blocked
Heard the latest lawyer joke?
A federal judge in Texas has moved to outlaw Quicken Family =
Lawyer, a legal software program. The reason: It was too helpful.
No kidding.
Judge Barefoot Sanders determined that by helping people fill out =
their legal documents, the program treads illegally on lawyers' turf. =
Specifically, it violates laws that bar anyone but licensed lawyers from =
giving legal advice.
The case was brought by a lawyers' group, whose interest is clear =
enough. Lawyers typically charge anywhere from $100 to $650 an hour. =
Quicken costs $29.95 for life.
A silly ruling? Without a doubt. But not unusual. Computer =
programs aside, lawyers across the nation are using laws barring =
practice of law by non-attorneys to stymie competition, leaving the =
public less able to help itself.
The legal monopoly
An American Bar Association committee on non-lawyer practice in =
1995 noted that enforcement of unauthorized practice laws declined after =
1970, but rose again in the '90s. Recent cases suggest the trend =
continues:
a.. In Oregon, paralegal Robin Smith helped nearly 10,000 people =
over nine years to prepare paperwork for divorces, bankruptcies and =
other routine matters. She notified customers she wasn't an attorney and =
told them to see one if they needed legal advice. No customers =
complained, but the Oregon bar howled. It sued in 1995, forcing her to =
close her business and pay $16,000 for the bar's legal costs.=20
b.. In Delaware, Marilyn Arons, a nationally recognized expert =
on the rights of disabled students, helped parents there win special =
education services from local school boards. The parents were happy. =
School board lawyers were not. Their complaints led the state's Office =
of Judiciary Counsel to file an unauthorized practice suit that's still =
pending.=20
c.. In California, a lawyer used an unauthorized-practice-of-law =
suit to threaten 40 paralegals who were helping people write wills and =
file for bankruptcy and divorce. He offered to drop charges against them =
if each paid a $1,000 out-of-court settlement. They refused, and =
eventually got the state to protect their practices -- but only if they =
collectively hired a lawyer to oversee their work.=20
d.. In Florida, former brokers and others have been barred from =
representing investors in securities arbitration.=20
e.. In Ohio, the state Supreme Court ruled paralegals can't =
represent consumers making an auto accident insurance claim.=20
f.. In Virginia, Garrett Burris, a 20-year-old community college =
student hoping to become a lawyer, took time but no pay to help a fellow =
pizza delivery driver fight a speeding ticket. After Burris appeared in =
court with his friend, who spoke only limited English, prosecutors =
charged him with practicing law illegally. They forced him to hire a =
lawyer, who spared Burris any jail time. But Burris' record ruins his =
chances of ever becoming a lawyer in Virginia.=20
What kind of justice is that? Hypocritical.
The first unauthorized practice-of-law statutes were enacted in =
the late 19th Century, but the real onslaught of laws with tough =
enforcement didn't begin until the late 1920s.
Bar associations then argued that tough action was needed to =
protect the public from incompetent practitioners. But Stanford =
University legal ethicist and historian Deborah Rhode, past president of =
the American Association of Law Schools, found no studies were performed
=
to see if consumers had been harmed. The few studies done since indicate =
the laws protect lawyers as much as the public.
The lawyers' complaint
Rhode's own survey in 1980 found only 2% of complaints against =
non-lawyer practice involved any claim of injury. A 1995 Arizona study =
of 550 complaints filed over five years found 70% came from lawyers.
The few studies comparing the performance of lawyers with =
layperson specialists all have found about equal performance in =
non-courtroom settings. A 1990 California state bar survey actually =
found people more satisfied with lay practitioners than lawyers.=20
One thing non-lawyers absolutely do better is charge less.
Indeed, the ABA has found high legal fees make legal services =
unaffordable to as many as 100 million Americans. Those needs underlie a =
USA TODAY report last month that found people in 60% to 80% of domestic
=
cases in some states chose to represent themselves.
What's needed? The ABA committee on non-lawyer practice urged =
states to let non-lawyer specialists, properly regulated, help people =
deal with simple legal matters. But the ABA membership has yet to =
approve.
States also might learn from Arizona, where 800 numbers and =
Internet web sites help people answer legal questions and courthouse =
computer kiosks help them fill out legal forms.
Or there's a final option.
If lawyers really want to keep their monopoly, then states ought =
to regulate them like utilities and make them charge affordable rates.
Bet you'd see lawyers howling for Quicken Family Lawyer then.
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