Legal Information vs. Legal Advice

The unbundling of traditional legal offerings -- which is an emerging trend central to Richard Susskind's recent book The End of Lawyers -- has been a hot topic in these parts lately.

The idea of different legal services becoming available in new venues and formats is one that we're seeing manifest itself in a number of ways from web-based companies offering legal forms, legal facts, entreprenuerial start-up guidance, copyright filing, and more.

And it's happening in both the U.S. and the U.K.

In fact, the U.K.'s Legal Services Act 2007 is a national initiative providing a legislative framework to actually reform the way legal services in England and Wales are regulated and delivered.

The Act specifically allows legal services "to be provided under new business structures" with a stated goal of promoting "competition and innovation".

The BBC recently reported on this, highlighting that "future providers, including large retail brands, could seek a license to offer legal services."

The article includes opposing views, including an attorney who says the move "demonstrates utter contempt for the consumer of legal services. The solicitor profession faces being all but wiped out by a government seemingly intent on robbing the public of access to good quality, local legal advice."

Ah, but here is something to keep in mind: As we talk about the fragmenting of legal offerings, it's important to be consistent in distinguishing between legal information and legal advice.

In fact, it could be argued that the BBC's reporting fails to do this. Or, at the least, it allows for the interchanging of the terms.

The American Bar Association distinguishes between legal information and legal advice. Legal information is general, non case specific, and can be provided by anyone. Legal advice, on the other hand, is "provided by a trained lawyer who uses his or her knowledge of the law to tell you how the law applies to your specific circumstances."

When listening to all the voices on both sides of the conversation, it's important to keep the distinction in mind and remember that legal advice isn't going anywhere.

Legal experience, insight, and strategy aimed at an outcome will always be in demand. What is evolving, and will continue to evolve, is how the more rudimentary and "commoditizable" aspects of the law will be unbundled and delivered.