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Who is MyLawyer.com®
?
Can I really represent myself? Why is this a New Way to
Solve My Legal Problem?
What if I need legal advice?
How do I contact MyLawyer.com®?
Q. What is MyLawyer.com®
?
A. MyLawyer.com,® Inc.
is a
legal information services organization that specializes in publishing
self-help legal software tools on the Web enabling citizens to access the
law without incurring the high cost of legal fees. Epoq,
US, Inc., is the
parent organization of MyLawyer.com, Inc., and is the developer of the
underlying technology that powers MyLawyer.com, Inc., and its family of
legal information web sites.
MyLawyer.com is not a law firm,
but consists of lawyers with computer skills, Paralegal, web marketing
specialists, legal researchers, and computer professionals skilled in web site
development. We offer state-specific interactive legal
documents and legal tools, enabling citizens to access the law without
incurring the high cost of legal fees. We also license these digital
applications to law firms to enable them to serve consumers at lower
cost.
The founder and President of MyLawyer.com®, Inc.
is Richard S. Granat, Esq.
Richard was previously
the President and Dean of the Philadelphia Institute for Paralegal Training, the nation's
first paralegal training school. Richard has been a member of the Maryland and
District of Columbia Bar for over thirty years, and is the author of "How to Do Your
Own Divorce in DC., Maryland, and Virginia," and "How to Do Your Divorce in
Maryland" (1998). Richard is a member of the American Bar Association, the Maryland
State Bar Association, and the District of Columbia Bar Association and
Co-Chair of the ELawyering Task
Force of the Law Practice Management Section of the
American Bar Association.
Epoq, US, Inc., is the
exclusive U.S. licensee of Rapidocs - a web -enabled document automation
system published by Epoq Software, Ltd., based in London, UK. Rapidocs powers the
leading legal information web sites for consumers in the UK, including:
http://www.desktoplawyer.co.uk
and
http://www.lawassure.co.uk,
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Q. Can I really
represent myself?
A. We believe that with accurate and complete legal
information a person of reasonable intelligence and education can
represent themselves in a wide variety of routine and uncontested legal
matters. This assumption is based on fact. In an evaluation study
undertaken by the University of Maryland School of Law of a sample drawn
from over 10,000 pro se litigants in family matters in Maryland
Courts, seventy-four (74%) of the reported that they were satisfied with
the result and would represent themselves again. Fifty-four (54%)
percent reported that they decided to represent themselves because they
thought a lawyer would be too expensive, and an additional eighteen
(18%) reported that they represented themselves because they did not
think that the problem was sufficiently complicated that a lawyer's
services were required. These research findings are supported by similar
research in other jurisdictions which are collected at the Pro
Se Law Center.
There
are situations when you should not represent yourself and you should
seek the assistance of counsel. These situations include where you have
substantial assets; where you and your spouse cannot reach agreement on
custody, visitation, or child support issues; and where your spouse is
uncooperative or has been abusive. On
the other hand if
your dispute is uncontested, securing a legal result may only be a matter of
filing the correct legal documents in the correct order.
If you can follow instructions, you
can represent yourself as a pro se litigant. National data
supports this assertion. In states such as California and Florida, for
example, 60-70% of all divorces are uncontested and the parties are not
represented by counsel.
Representing yourself does not mean that
you should secure legal advice to assist you in this process. Many
lawyers will offer limited legal advice and counsel for a fixed fee.
This is called, "unbundled legal services" and does not
involve retention of the lawyer for the entire matter, but just those
aspects where you need the legal assistance of an attorney.
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Q. What if I need
legal advice?
A. We do not provide
legal advice from this web site. If you need legal advice, which is
defined as applying the law to the specific facts of your case, we
recommend a telephone legal advice service which is being offered by a
network of law firms located in each state by
ARAGDIRECT,
one
of the nation's largest providers of pre-paid legal insurance plans in the
country. For only $39.95, you can speak directly with an attorney
in your state over the telephone. "Ask
An Attorney" is designed to give you advice about issues
surrounding personal, non-business legal matters. The advice given per
call will be specific to a single legal matter. This product is
appropriate for use to determine whether you have a legal issue and to
find out what options you may have.
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Q. How do I contact MyLawyer.com?
Contact Information:
MyLawyer.com®, Inc.
9141 Reisterstown Road, #43
Owings Mills, Maryland 21117
Support: click here
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Please note: When you get divorced you should have a new will, living will, and power of attorney.
To get your will, living will and power of attorney
go to our affiliated web site at: http://www.smartlegalforms.com
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