I am a Florida legal
document preparer and the statewide Director of the Florida
Association of Legal Document Preparers (FALDP). I am not a
paralegal. By definition, paralegals work directly under the
supervision of an attorney, I do not. I work directly for consumers
who are representing themselves in a court case. Self-represented
consumers are called pro se litigants. I call these consumers
customers. I don't call them clients, mostly because that's what
attorneys call their customers, and I don't want to be anything like
or run my business anything like an attorney.
In fact, I go to great
pains to not operate like an attorney. Most importantly, I don't give
legal advice. My customers always know that I'm not an attorney. In
fact, they cannot avoid knowing that I'm not an attorney. My business
is virtual, everything I do is over the phone and over the internet.
I never meet with my customers face to face. In the first telephone
conversation I have with any new or potential customer, I say: As
you probably know, I'm not an attorney, I'm a Florida legal document
preparer. And what that means is I can prepare documents, explain
procedure, and give you legal information, but I cannot provide
advice or representation. Frequently I have to interrupt my
new or potential customer to get those words said.
The potential customer
called with a question. They almost always begin the conversation
with – I have a question. After I say my thirty second speech, I
then say – and I'll answer your question as I can.
They they ask the question, which frequently begins with – how much
would you charge – for whatever it is that they need.
I
listen to what they need, may ask a few questions for clarity, and
then tell them what I charge. This is not called a consultation and
is especially not called a “free consultation” although that is
exactly what it is. It is called a conversation. Document preparers
are specifically prohibited from offering free consultations
according to Florida case law which found that a “free
consultation” is something that an attorney offers and does, and
document preparers are not allowed to offer or do free consultations
because a free consultation amounts to the unauthorized practice of
law (UPL). Go figure. So its called a conversation.
After
the conversation, I request the consumer's email address and tell
them, my next step is to send them an email which will include a
summary of this conversation, all of my contact information, a price
quote, and a link to my website. I tell them they can submit payment
on my site through paypal.
The
email I send always says the same thing, except for the exact type of
service they requested varies according to their request. For
example, if the consumer wants a divorce and has children, my email
says.
Hi
….,
I'm
following up our phone conversation for document preparation for a
Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Children. As we discussed,
my fee is $255 for the petition documents; and an additional $75 for
the Parenting Plan. Please visit my site to learn more about my
services – www.for-the-people-of-Florida.com
– and you can submit payment on my site with a credit or debit card
through paypal whenever you're ready.
Thank
you for the opportunity to assist you.
Best
Regards,
In
the signature of my email I include these words: I
am not an attorney and do not provide legal advice. When
a customer goes to my site he sees those words again. Before the
customer submits payment he is required to click a box to acknowledge
that he has read my disclaimer, disclosure, and site policies.
Without clicking the box, he cannot arrive at the payment page. The
disclaimer, disclosure and site policies are here -
http://www.for-the-people-of-florida.com/disclaimer-and-disclosure.php
After
the customer pays, I intake the information I need to prepare their
documents. If the customer wants divorce documents prepared or any
other type of family law documents prepared, I set up a phone
appointment so that I can intake their information during a phone
call. Forms for family law are on the Florida Supreme Court's site –
www.flcourts.org – and the
rule is that when a document preparer is using Florida Supreme Court
approved forms, she can intake the information verbally. So that's
what I do. Family law forms are nearly the only Florida Supreme Court
approved forms in existence. Even forms for federal filings such as
bankruptcy and immigration are not considered Florida Supreme Court
approved forms.
I
don't prepare forms for bankruptcy or immigration. I do, however,
prepare other types of forms which are not Florida Supreme Court
approved. I prepare documents for Early Termination of Probation, a
few Expunge & Seal, Answers for civil court, and Summary
Administration of Estate. For all of these I intake the customer's
information in writing. Exactly how that works is the subject of
another article which will be coming soon.
The
reason I'm writing this series of articles is that I want to make it
clear to consumers, potential customers, attorneys, and the Florida
Bar exactly what I do. I also want everyone to understand why I do
what I do. I am for the little guy. I am for the downtrodden. I am
for the consumer who needs documents and hiring an attorney is out of
the question. I am for justice.
This sums if up in a great fashion of what we do as legal document preparers. No we are not Lawyers and can not provide legal advice. When a customer calls me K also advicw them that I cant act as a attorney on their behalf. I do tell them of they need legal advice to contact an attorney and get the advice they need and of they still need my services I can prepare the correct forms. Most of my customers are repeated customers or from word of mouth. I like how the previous Customer educates the refferal thay I am not a lawyer. So when they call they know exactly what they want. I then ask for email and submit a Questionnaire for the customer to complete. They email back to me I then prepare the forms. I do need to start having a best practise of having them pay first as that has caused me a problem in the past. Thanks Ruth.
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