Parts One and Two from the Law Librarian Blog, a follow-up to the suits against LegalZoom.com

As a law librarian who once did his fair share of legal work under attorney supervision (and the firm’s malpractice insurance) but now is a public law librarian, I certainly can say that it oftentimes takes more time to explain to our non-attorney public patrons that we cannot tell them which transactional form they should use (or how if one were to take clauses A, B and C from one form sample, clause “D” from another form and clauses “E and F” form a third form, fill in the blanks and “that will work”) because that would be an unauthorized practice of law.

Frustrating? Yes. Required? Yes. Necessary as a practical matter? Not usually. However, I am not suggesting public law librarians be permitted to take the “next step.”