A COMPUTER program stands accused of practising law without a licence. The
software鈥檚 publisher is being sued by a subcommittee of the Texas Supreme Court
under legislation that protects lawyers from unaccredited competitors.
If the subcommittee wins the lawsuit, Parsons Technology of Hiawatha, Iowa,
which markets Quicken Family Lawyer, will be banned from selling its product in
Texas. The case may come to trial in December. 鈥淭hey haven鈥檛 told us exactly
what the nature of our violation is,鈥� says Darrell Jordan of Hughes & Luce,
the Dallas law firm representing Parsons. 鈥淏ut it seems pretty clear they are
targeting software.鈥�
Another publisher of self-help legal software, Nolo Press of Berkeley,
California, has been notified that the same subcommittee will hold a hearing
next month to determine the legality of its product. Two other producers of
legal software are also thought to be under investigation.
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The Quicken software can be used to draft documents such as wills and leases.
In a section called 鈥淎sk Arthur Miller鈥�, the famous Harvard lawyer of the same
name appears on video and expounds on issues ranging from choosing a lawyer to
deciding whether or not you can afford to buy a house.
Mark Ticer, the Dallas lawyer who chairs the Supreme Court subcommittee,
insists that it is not singling out software. In 1992, he says, a book written
by someone with no legal qualifications was judged to have breached the statute
invoked against Parsons Technology. But Ticer argues that the Quicken program
may represent a more serious breach. 鈥淚t asks you questions, selects forms for
you, and a lawyer pops up and gives you advice. If that isn鈥檛 dispensing legal
advice, what is?鈥�
But Nolo鈥檚 associate publisher, Steve Elias, says he does not see how
computer code can be accused of practising law. 鈥淐onsumers know the difference
between a lawyer and a program,鈥� he says.
鈥淭he idea of [the program being] a lawyer in a box just doesn鈥檛 make sense.鈥�
He points out that the software鈥檚 introductory screen tells its users: 鈥淵ou must
use you own judgment and, to the extent you believe appropriate, the assistance
of a lawyer.鈥�
Even if such programs were to be outlawed in Texas, he argues that the ruling
would be unenforceable, as the software could still be downloaded from the
Internet or ordered from booksellers operating on the Web.