Surfing with the Lawyers
August 11th, 2007 (4:00pm) Samuel Dean 9 Comments
Do you have a small business, or an idea for one? Do you know how to incorporate it? Maybe you’re thinking of building out a new type of e-commerce site, but you’re wondering whether your idea defies copyright laws and might earn you some jail time. Many web workers, for all kinds of reasons, can benefit from consultations with attorneys. It’s also true, though, that people view such consultations as expensive and rife with hassles. But the truth is that all you need is a web browser to get excellent legal advice free of charge.
In this post, I’ll introduce some freely available legal resources that you can begin using today. Also remember that many of these resources are good places to view as starting points for sniffing out other legal resources online. All you have to do to get started is ask a question and hit Send.
First, let’s start with attorneys who might be willing to get you out of a jam for no charge whatsoever. After all, trouble is a common reason for why people need lawyers. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a non-profit organization that often handles technology-related defenses and other kinds of cases, by dedicating lawyers to them who work on a pro bono basis (for free). Especially if you need lawyers to defend you in a case that involves cutting-edge tech issues, you may find the free help you need there. EFF’s web site has a long list of cases the organization has won.
If all you need is the answer to a legal question, there are numerous attorneys online who will step up to the plate free of charge. A very good place to go for free answers is LawGuru.com. The site has a network of over 5,000 attorneys who will get back to you about your typed-in question almost immediately. You can also try Just Answer Legal, although be aware that you may have to pay a small fee for an answer in some cases at this site.
Nolo Press and its Legal Companion site are also good places to turn for legal freebies, and for software applications you can use to make your own airtight legal documents. The Nolo site also offers free podcasts on legal topics.
Finally, as you explore the many online resources for free legal help, remember to use common sense in evaluating the help that you get. It’s a good policy to ask anybody who provides you with answers online whether he or she is a retired or practicing attorney. Also, get multiple opinions and leave room for the possibility that information you get could be incorrect.
Do you have any tips on where to find free legal resources online? Are you an attorney who knows about free legal resources?
9 Comments Post your own comment
Chris Wilson says: August 11th, 2007 8:54pm
Great post! This is something I can use, and can also point many clients to for small questions. In fact, I think I’ll pass this along to someone who has a legal question about trademarks right now.
links for 2007-08-12 « nan tak (kalah) penting says: August 12th, 2007 9:21am
[...] Surfing with the Lawyers - Web Worker Daily. Memuat beberapa situs yang memberikan layanan konsultasi hukum seperti eff.org, lawguru.org, law.justanswer.com, nolo.com. (tags: hukum bisnis) [...]
eLearning Service » Blog Archive » Legal resources, documents and forms says: August 12th, 2007 3:21pm
[...] resources on the Net Web Worker Daily lists and explains helpful online legal resources, many free or low [...]
Zonenberg Software says: August 13th, 2007 7:23am
MasurLaw has compiled a database of over 700 links related to the law of entertainment, film, games, etc. Some sites provide free assistance, others work for a fee.
http://www.masurlaw.com/cms/resources.php
Pelle says: August 13th, 2007 8:30am
Great links. While IANAL, I write a lot about contract and corporate law from the viewpoint of an entrepreneur on my blog:
http://stakeventures.com/articles/category/legal
Nolo Press is great. Another site ala LawGuru is http://www.freeadvice.com.
Craig says: August 13th, 2007 4:16pm
Don’t forget taht you want your lawyer to be qualified and insured and an expert in the field you are dealing with - or at least competent.
Part of the value you get from lawyers can be risk management. If you are found to have done the wrong things on the advice of your lawyer you can apportion some of the blame and possibly pass on some of the penalty.
And if you need an Australian lawyer… try Erina Legal (named before Boston Legal made it to the airwaves.)
Craig (not a lawyer)
http://www.erinalegal.com.au
David says: August 14th, 2007 6:25am
Does someone knows about those sites in GERMANY ?
Chris Hupka says: August 14th, 2007 11:23am
I was wondering abour incorporating and the costs involved. Can I use someone else’s incorporating forms and hire a firm to carry the charter? If not where can I find a relatively cheap fim to incorporate and to carry the charter. Basically what is the cheapest way that I can incorporate?
WebWorkerDaily » Archive What To Do When Your Work is Stolen Online « says: November 25th, 2008 5:25am
[...] to approach this situation, look at the legal facts and turn to a professional. There are some websites where you can get free legal advice, which you can use as a starting point to clear up the legal aspects of the violation. Also, [...]