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So Text A Lawyer wants to be the next Uber.
Yeah, and George C. Parker has a bridge to sell you. Not to be judgmental or anything, but doesn't everybody want to be the next Uber -- without all the lawsuits?
The real question is, can lawyers really make money with this app? Oh, and because of Uber and all that, is it ethical?
Kevin Gillespie, a legal tech innovator, says lawyers can make $150 an hour with Text A Lawyer from the comfort of their smart devices. The app goes live next month, according to LawSites.
It will match texters with lawyers who answer questions at $20 each and $9 per follow up. It works like Uber because the attorneys have to compete with others to answer questions promptly. If you are available and prompt, you'll be a busy lawyer.
The good news for consumers is that it's a lot less than $150 an hour -- as long as they don't have too many follow-up questions. The good news for lawyers is the questions are likely to be short, not Twitter short, but consumer short.
There are other money-making apps for attorneys, but texting is something lawyers already do. So is text law an ethical practice?
Of course, there are legal limits to texting -- you know what they are. Text A Lawyer has worked out the bugs related to the app.
To avoid fee-splitting and commingling, the company holds each credit card purchase until the question-answer session is complete. Then it sends $15 of the initial fee and $8 of the follow-up fee to the attorney.
The app runs through a conflict-check and a competency check, too. Naturally, it also includes the necessary disclosures for limited scope attorneys.
Gillespie says he worked through a national law firm to ensure ethical compliance in almost every state. The business will start in Oregon and Washington.
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