The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that two websites that offered customers assistance filing bankruptcy claims were essentially guilty of practicing law without a license.Henry Ihejirika ran the websites, Ziinet.com and 700law.com (both sites have been taken down). He claimed that the web sites were just clerical tools, providing customers with assistance in filling out their forms. But one client paid $219 to enter his personal information, and was given a set of bankruptcy forms to sign.
It turns out there were errors in that form, and the client took Ihejirika to court, where a judge found that the web sites provided more than clerical assistance, and that Ihejirika had "engaged in the unauthorized practice of the law."
While this is good news for the client that had his bankruptcy files mangled, the ruling could make it difficult for similar businesses to set up shop online in the future. Theoretically that could include automated tax preparation web sites or any other site that offers any sort of legal advice.
[via Techdirt]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-07-2007 @ 6:13PM
James said...
Wow, the 9th Circus fucks up American life yet again. Uh... surprise?
Reply