“The bar has been attacking “do-it-yourself” guides and other self-help materials since the late 1960’s. In 1967, the New York Bar charged that the publication and sale of Norman Dacey’s book, How to Avoid Probate, violated state prohibitions on unauthorized practice. Fortunately, the New York Court of Appeals disagreed, ruling that writing and publishing self-help legal materials and forms is not the practice of law. This ruling did not keep other states from going after other self-help products, though. [ed. note: scroll down this NYT column to learn more about Dacey's best-selling probate book, which helped acquaint the public with the notion of using self-help materials.]

“In 1999 in Texas, a U.S. District Court banned the sale and distribution of the popular legal self-help software, Quicken Family Lawyer, on the grounds that it served as a “cyberlawyer” and violated the state unauthorized practice statute (The Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee v. Parsons Technology Inc., No. 99-10388 (5th Cir. June 29, 1999)). To remedy the problem, the Texas Legislature had to pass emergency legislation that excluded such materials from the bar’s repressive definition of the practice of law.”

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