Nadia+Nedzel

Nadia Nedzel

Homework 1

Part 1 Several advantages of virtual law practices: 1. Time efficiency for both attorney and client: greater flexibility for both either can access/provide legal services at times that are convenient. 2. Space efficiency for both attorney and client: depending on jurisdictional rules, attorney can work anywhere he or she has access to the internet, similarly, client can seek advice from anywhere he or she has access to the internet. 3. Cost efficient: legal services can be unbundled and provided at lower cost. 4. Easier document creation: documents can be generated in whole or in part automatically, can easily be collaborated on by a number of attorneys 5. Easier & faster document sharing & client communication: client can be informed immediately of any action taken in his representation. 6. Documents can be secured in more than one place rather than on one server or in one file cabinet, either of which could be subject to catastrophic destruction (Katrina survivor who lost more than one computer & more than one file cabinet in flood) 7. Faster, less expensive, and easier invoicing and payment for services 8. Start-up costs for solo practitioners very, very reasonable in a world where Big Law Firms are less and less likely to hire recent graduates

Several disadvantages 1. # of potential Ethical issues: attorney must avoid unlawful practice of law in jurisdictions where they are not licensed; 2. Attorney must be sure that client information is secure; must make sure that client is who they say they are 3. Client may need to do additional research to verify that virtual attorney's website is reputable, etc. 4. Virtual lawyering cannot be used in representations that cannot be unbundled, such as custody battles, criminal representation, complex litigation 5. As client must provide some of the work, attorney's advice will only be as good as the information provided by the client. the inaccuracy of the resulting advice can lead to serious problems for both client and attorney. 6. Entering this type of practice requires attorneys who are both experts in law and experts in tech.

Part 2

A **virtual law firm** is a group of lawyers with diverse expertise that are banded together through technological means to provide a suite of services to its clients. Available at: []

Elawyering: eLawyering is doing legal work - not just marketing - over the Web. Available at []

3rd definition: what was surprising and even shocking to me was what I DIDN'T find: I could not find any definitions relating to e-lawyering, digital lawyering, or virtual lawyering in the 9th (most recent edition) of Black's Law Dictionary. If I am mistaken, please correct me.


 * Homework 2**

Advantages to Document automation 1. Saves time when an attorney must prepare the same kinds of documents on many occasions 2. Allows for creation of self-checks and warning systems to prevent omission of a necessary clause in a contract, for example. 3. Facilitates collaborative drafting. 4. allows clients to do some of the form-filling work themselves 5. facilitates access to justice by lowering legal costs for simple legal tasks (e.g. Legal Zoom), etc. 6. As a legal writing instructor, another advantage is that document automation further encourages writing clarity, getting us farther away from "whereas's" and other legalese.

Disadvantages 1. Mistakes can easily be perpetuated-- if the initial form document contains a flaw, that flaw will be replicated in each subsequent document 2. Every conceivable potential problem must be anticipated in the preparation of the initial program as a result of (1) above. 3. Collaborative drafting creates the possibility of a multiplicity of conflicting drafts and difficulty in maintaining document integrity unless drafts are carefully tracked. 4. See answers to Homework 1 above: allowing client input without attorney verification can create additional problems 5. Because production is all automated, there is little incentive to keep documents as short as possible.

Different company formation systems: I tried out all three systems, and my conclusions are that they are each designed for a different type of user, though all three are focused on generating documents for start-up corporations. the WSGR system was the most difficult to use, requiring a great deal of knowledge of corporate law by the user, though it at least included simple warnings and some tutorials, but it used a great deal of corporate-law specific jargon, so unless the user is a corporate-law specialist, it is difficult to use. It seemed best for large, possibly internationally-oriented companies. Choice of state of registry was pretty much limited to Delaware or California. The Orrick system was more explanatory, and interestingly included a trademark search, but would generate only one kind of document. The user did not need as much corporate-law specific knowledge, but it seemed to generate only one kind of document. the Goodwin system was interesting in that it generated different types for formation documents, not merely the corporate registry document, AND it's free to start-ups. All three included multiple warnings that they were not providing legal advice, and all three warned that the user should consult a tax attorney and possibly a corporate attorney for other issues. On the third website, I liked that the documents generated were written in English, not legalese -- as someone who teaches Contract law and contract drafting, I am constantly trying to get students to stop using "whereas's" and other out-dated legalese.