Online lawyers, where art thou?
Crystal posted this on February 8, 2008
It looks like my favorite online source for legal representation, MyCounsel.com, is out of business. MyCounsel.com was a nationwide pool of lawyers that managed your case for a predetermined flat fee, completely online. This kind of service is super handy for solving interstate legal problems—a distinct possibility for remote workers.
Like the time I was working for a client in California, 3000 miles away. They were always slow to pay, but near the end of the contract they flat out ignored my emails and calls about their unpaid invoices. Weeks crept by without a penny, and it wasn’t like I could go knock on their door.
So I searched the listings at MyCounsel.com for a lawyer based near my client so they could knock on their door. My attorney and I connected through a private, secure message board at MyCounsel.com, and discussed the problem, option, and whatnot.
A mere twelve days after I faxed him a glut of contracts, invoices, phone logs and reminder notices, I got a big fat check from my far-away client. I can only imagine their surprise when they got a letter from an attorney—around the corner—about paying up. Well worth the $125 legal fee.
It was truly fab. No hidden costs, no haggling over fees or lengthy long distance phone calls, no time zone dilemmas or scheduled meetings or telephone tag. Best that I can tell, there’s nothing out there like it anymore.
But hey, the Web is a big place and maybe I’m just missing it. If you know a company offering this service online, leave a comment…
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2 Responses to “Online lawyers, where art thou?”
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Hi! I just discovered your blog and it’s great. As a lawyer I represent a number of small businesses and I frequently find myself recommending web tools to assist them in operating their businesses, and your blog is certainly a good source for this.
I was unfamiliar with mycounsel.com, but I can guess as to one of the reasons that they are no longer in business. Any lawyer handling a collection matter for $125 is probably not going to be in business very long.
Considering that your lawyer had to review the “glut of contracts, invoices, phone logs and reminder notices” and then prepare a letter (and let’s assume it was a form letter), your talking about at least two hours of your lawyer’s time. This doesn’t include administrative time involved with setting you up as a client, and some exchange of emails and/or phone conversations with you regarding your matter. It also does not include an allocable portion of time that the lawyer spent reviewing the mycounsel.com opportunity, setting up an account there, and maintenance (payment for the service (perhaps auto pay, but still some time setting that up), responding to inquiries that go nowhere, etc.).
So, after including all of that, I’d say that the lawyer might be making $40 an hour or less, which is typically not a living wage for an attorney, given that you have to figure in the cost of the lawyer’s business overhaed before determining a profit, and not every hour spent by a lawyer during the work day is billable time (believe me, I know).
Having said that, I do know that small businesses regularly struggle with the costs of legal services, and often a problem that could use a lawyer is simply not worth the expense, considering the dollar value of the problem.
There are websites out there trying to solve this problem, but perhpaps the best thing a small business can do is preventive medicine, including credit checks on potential clients and a good client contract. No preventive measure will eliminate all problems but at least they will reduce the likelihood of a nonpayment issue.
Recent blog post from David Leffler: 1
Although MyCounsel was a very good tool, and a great idea I have to admit, the flat fee was no “real”, I guess that is way a lot of professionals explored other options to get clients online and left MyCounsel.