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: The Once and Future Lawyer

The site that purports to invite people to litigate

There are so many more pressing issues to write about, but I wanted to take a few minutes and write about this "who can you sue" website that has been over the news lately. I may have written about this idea earlier in the year, but my point with this report and "service" is more in what it does than what it does not. See Who Can You Sue? Click Here.

The concept of using this website to see if you have a worthwhile legal claim is a little more detailed than it seems to be, and something more than just a simple referral site. The article suggests that legal advice is actually given over the internet: "Wolfe maintains his service could just as easily help someone realize he doesn't have a case ? or that, while they may have a legal claim, it won't generate enough money to interest an attorney to take it on." While it then decides to refer the "client" to someone in their jurisdiction, I just wonder about the unauthorized practice of law implications this site subjects itself to.

Then again, the site probably self-selects its target market (or the target market is self-selecting). I just wonder how many dopes are going to be roped into giving this site money to find out that they really don't have a case. I also wonder how many dopes are going to be led into thinking they have a suit, before an attorney from whatever jurisdiction they are referred to says otherwise. I tend to agree with attorney Richard Sharpstein's sentiments: "Our country's courts are clogged with unnecessary and frivolous lawsuits which delay, if not obstruct, the access to courts of people that really need to get there, that have serious legal grievances." I do acknowledge Prof. Lidsky's point that it is another potentially effective internet tool. Then again, they said the same thing about blogging, and look at all the white noise that has been created by that concept.

In the end, if you're foolish enough to check out a website instead of a local attorney, who probably could tell you a much better answer for the same price if not less, you deserve to have your money taken. Obviously if you have a case, you shouldn't need a website to tell you so. The close of the article makes the best point: "However, if you're looking to use the website to find a good lawyer, in most states you could do just as well by checking with the local bar association. In Florida, for example, lawyers can sign up for the state bar's referral system by paying a $125 membership fee, agreeing to charge clients only $25 for an initial 30-minute office consultation and guaranteeing $100,000 in liability insurance coverage."

Full post as published by The Once and Future Lawyer on August 07, 2008 (boomark / email).

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