Law That You Can Afford : Self-Help Law, Limited Legal Services : MyLawyer.com : Law That You Can Afford

When lawyers offer "unbundled legal services" to their clients they offer only those services that the client wants to pay for, leaving to the client those tasks that the client can do for herself. "Unbundled legal services" is also called "discrete task representation" because the attorney only undertake legal fees for the client. The client is back in control.

A good example of unbundled legal services in the family law area is lawyer preparation of the legal pleadings for a no-fault and uncontested divorce bundled with legal advice for a fixed fee, leaving to the client other tasks such as service on the opposing party and self-representation at the divorce hearing. Hearings for a no-fault and uncontested divorce are primarily administrative in nature, with the Judge or Master conforming the accuracy of the documents and establishing a record that the divorce is consensual and that all the requirements of time of separation and proper service have been satisfied. Most pro se parties can handle these tasks by themselves without the presence of an attorney, thus saving hundreds of dollars in legal fees.

I know this to be a fact from my own experience, because the virtual law firm family law practice that I operate in Maryland has served hundreds of pro se parties seeking their own uncontested divorce during the last four years.

If you want to save on legal fees, look for an attorney in your area who is willing to provide "unbundled legal services". I have been compiling a list of these law firms in different states for the past year. If you have a problem finding an attorney in your state, send me an email and I will see if I can help you identify one.

Stephanie Kimbro, a solo practitioner who operates Kimbrolaw.com, a virtual law firm in North Carolina, has been selected as this year's winner of the James Keane Memorial Award for Excellence in eLawyering. This award is given annually by the eLawyering Task Force of the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association, a group which was founded by Jim Keane an active and long-standing member of the ABA/LPM section who died tragically from lung cancer several years ago. I am the present Co-Chair with Marc Lauritsen.

Ms. Kimbro's law firm is a completely virtual law firm that serves individuals and small business over the Web. Our group concluded that Kimbrolaw.com  met the criteria for the Award perfectly as it demonstrates an innovative online model for delivering services to the broad middle class. Clients access their own individual web space where they can consult with their attorney, have their documents reviewed, and conduct other legal tasks -- all online.

The Award was given to Ms. Kimbro at the American Bar Association's TECHSHOW on April 2, 2009, immediately before the key note speech by Richard Susskind, who discussed his new book: The End of Lawyers: The Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services.

 I am offering an on-line course on "unbundling legal services" with a particular focus on how to offer limited legal services over the Internet.  "Limited legal services" is another name for "unbundled legal services."The course begins the week of June 1, 2009 and there will be 7 sessions over a 12 week period. By the end of the course participants will have developed a design for an "unbundled legal service" that can be integrated with their traditional law practice. Topics include: how to "unbundle" legal services by task or by issue; how to create and price an on-line service; marketing of on-line "unbundled legal services"; and ethical and regulatory requirements for offering "unbundled legal services."

For a detailed syllabus go to: Solo Practice University

Granat Legal Services is a virtual law firm based in Maryland and the District of Columbia whose practice is focused on family law matters. All services are offered on a limited basis and for a fixed price. The firm does not undertake any representation in court. Instead, matters which require court representation are referred out to other law firms that also have a practice focus in family law and divorce matters, if that is what is required.

The law firm is an experment in delivering limited legal services over the Internet in family law matters. Client contact is exclusively by email and telephone, particulary since Richard Granat, the Managing Partner actually lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida for most of the year.

We serve consumers who are capable of representing themselves in court in routine matters and who are competent to execute their own legal documents.

Our major document and legal advice services are: no-fault divorce, marital sepration agreements, child support modifications, child custody modifications, QDRO Orders, wills, powers of attorney, living wills, health care powers of attorney, name changes, and other common legal actions.

Unlike legal document preparaiton companies, such as LegalZoom, we are a law firm that bundles legal advice with legal documents for an affordable fee -- a fee which is usually equal to what LegalZoom and what other non-lawyer legal document companies charge -- except the client has the full accountability of a law firm standing behind its work. We do a conflicts of interest check and we adhere to all of the requirements of the attorney-client privilege.

No non-lawyer legal document company can make these representations.  We also guarantee our work. If you are not satisfied for any reason, we will refund  your fee, no questions asked.