Skip to Content

Free TUAW iPhone app -- try it now!
AOL Tech

Filed under: News, Web services

Web sites found guilty of practicing law without a license

Lady JusticeThe 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]
jobs & resumes
Lead Blogger

AOL Find a Job - New York, NY (4 weeks ago)

See More Relevant Jobs ›

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Featured Time Waster

The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

View more Time Wasters

Featured Galleries

Defective by Design, London: Protest Pictures
Livescribe Store
Microsoft Security Essentials
Chromium Pre-Alpha on CrunchBang Linux
Safari 4 Beta
10 Firefox themes that don't suck
IE8 RC1
Download Squad at the Crunchies After-Party
Download Squad at the Crunchies
WordPress 2.7
Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals
Windows 7 Hands On
Comodo Internet Security
Android First-look: Amazon.com MP3 Store
Android First-look: Twitroid
Google Reader Android
Android Hands-On
Twine 1.0
Photoshop Express Beta
Mozilla Birthday Cake
Palm stuff

 


Follow us on Twitter!

Flickr Pool

www.flickr.com

More Tech Coverage

AOL Radio