How To Make Yourself A Target For $18 - An Online Lawyer's Cautionary Tale

Fee for Advice Sites Pose Traps for the Unwary : My Shingle. This is a very important post by Carolyn Elefant. Carolyn highlights the new service by Lawguru.com, which allows individuals to ask questions of lawyers, who receive $18 out of the $27 paid for a single answer to a single question. My first response to this was, "What?" Even with the Lawguru strategy of making the relationship an "unbundled" service that ends with the answer, the fact is that the advice given may have future consequences, and, at the very least, if the consumer has a bad result somewhere, the lawyer is exposed to unauthorized practice questions in a State not his own, can be sued for malpractice by a disgruntled consumer, and would be put to the expense of defending himself. Aren't we enough of a target already? Never give online legal advice. Ever. At least, not until the client has already established a relationship with you, and in an area of law within your own State. If somebody wants to engage my services, they may find me online; but, they will enter into an agreement in writing first. And, if I ever sell my advice for $18, shoot me.