Legal Websites: Attorneys are so yesterday, Right?

As the internet continues to expand, individuals are seeing ever expanding options that “allow” them to “replace expensive services with low cost alternatives.”  If you believe the hype, websites and algorithms can replace everything from travel agents to doctors.  Why take your kid to the doctor when you can simply use Web M.D.  However, despite the magnificent claims of some of these websites, the reality is that web-based models often fall well short of the real life services of the past.  Good doctors don’t simply use the symptoms that you tell them about, but rather ask you probing questions to get to symptoms you may not even realize that you are exhibiting.  Travel agents don’t simply buy your tickets for you, but often suggest travel plans you didn’t even know you wanted.  When a problem occurs on a trip, a website can’t fix it, but a good travel agent can.
When you sit down with a good attorney, their job is not to find out what you want and do it.  The job of an attorney is to find out what your goals are and help you achieve them.  The difference can be immense.  Imagine a client who has a burden of debt that is just too high.  He can no longer afford to keep his home, he has thousands of dollars in credit card bills and he owes his ex-spouse a property settlement.  His friend tells him that he should file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  The client goes to an online service, clicks on Chapter 7 and fills out the forms.  He prints them out and heads down to the bankruptcy court to file the documents.  The client is able to give up his home in the bankruptcy and get rid of the credit card debt but he still has to pay his ex-wife the property settlement.  The client got what they wanted, a Chapter 7.
Now imagine that same client goes to a qualified bankruptcy attorney.  The attorney sits down with him and finds out that his home has dropped in value and is worth less than what is owed on the first mortgage.  After talking with the client, the attorney learns that the client would prefer to stay in the house, but simply cannot afford it.  He could afford to stay if he didn’t have to pay the second mortgage and all the credit card debt.  He also would prefer not to have to honor the property settlement agreement which he viewed as unfair in the first place.  The attorney suggests that the client files for a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.  They file an adversary to strip the second mortgage, they discharge the property settlement in the Chapter 13 Plan (something that is not available in a Chapter 7) and they save the clients home.  Ultimately the client did not get what they wanted.  However, the client was better able to achieve their goals through the counsel of the attorney.
The reality of life is that attorneys do not sell you paperwork.  The product that we produce is not the forms that are filed with the court.  Attorneys offer advice and wisdom gained through years of study and practice that we have experienced.  The paperwork is simply the tangible manifestation of that product.  Do I believe that legal websites can replace a good attorney?  No, and neither should you.