Research: A Long Way from the Old Days

The legal field is one of continual growth. It does not remain stagnant in its ways, but instead adapts and evolves with the world and what it has to offer. One of many respects through which this evolution is evident is technology, which has become an integral asset to proper legal practice. Before the digital age there were very few developments in legal research and office operations. Now, there are a number of companies who enrich the research process through immense databases of case law, public records, and information relating to the medical side of the practice of personal injury. Formerly, the process was hindered by scattered information and numerous limits on the extent of research that could be undertaken. For example, a lawyer wanting to understand his/her client’s medical condition may have gone to a medical textbook store. Today, all of those resources are readily available online.

The spread of technology and its use in the legal field have also brought about negative changes. Websites such as LegalZoom have shaken up the legal community by offering customers rapid-fire legal services, memberships and customized legal forms all in a highly interactive and cost-efficient forms. However, judging by the federal district court of Missouri’s opinion in the Janson v. LegalZoom case of 2010, LegalZoom may have overstepped the narrow boundaries of acceptable changes in ‘old school’ legal traditions and methods. The court determined that charging fees for preparing legal documents resulted in the unauthorized practice of law. As that court ruled, the website’s operation may indeed be in violation of fraudulent and deceptive business practices. Thus, as with anything, tread carefully when wanting to avail yourself of the latest benefits.