LAWCLERK™ - Where Attorneys Go To Hire Freelance Lawyers
LAWCLERK is a revolutionary legal services marketplace created by lawyers for lawyers. LAWCLERK connects solo practitioners and law firms that need assistance with skilled lawyers that chose to work on a freelance basis. We refer to our incredibly talented freelance lawyers as “Lawclerks” because despite being lawyers, they are providing services in a paraprofessional capacity (as permitted by the ABA model rules) under the direct supervision of Attorneys barred and in good standing in their jurisdictions.
As disucssed in our ethics whitepaper (available in the footer), becuase our freelance lawyers (Lawclerks) work in a paraprofessional capacity for the Attorney, Attorneys can harness the skill and knowledge of freelance lawyers from across the country without running afoul of the restrictions on the unauthorized practice of law. While the definition of the practice of law is established by law and varies from one jurisdiction to another, the courts and bar associations unanimously agree that the purpose of the prohibition on the unauthorized practice of law is to protect the public from receiving legal services from unqualified persons.
Every state other than California has adopted the Model Rules, although some states have modified the Model Rules in their adoption or have not adopted the most recent amendments to the Model Rules. Model Rule 5.3, titled “Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer,” and Model Rule 5.5, titled “Unauthorized Practice of Law; Multijurisdictional Practice of Law,” are most pertinent to the analysis of what constitutes the unauthorized practice of law. The Model Rules balance the need for attorneys to utilize paraprofessional services while ensuring that the public is not unknowingly receiving legal advice from unqualified professionals.
The Comments to Model Rules 5.3 and 5.5 provide that: “This Rule [Model Rule 5.5] does not prohibit a lawyer from employing the services of paraprofessionals and delegating functions to them, so long as the lawyer supervises the delegated work and retains responsibility for their work.” “A lawyer may use nonlawyers outside the firm to assist the lawyer in rendering legal services to the client. Examples include the retention of an investigative or paraprofessional service, hiring a document management company to create and maintain a database for complex litigation, sending client documents to a third party for printing or scanning, and using an Internet-based service to store client information."
Consistent with the Model Rules, LAWCLERK balances the need for attorneys to maintain cost-effective legal services while meeting the public’s need to ensure that they are not unknowingly receiving legal advice from unqualified people.