Why Even Use a Lawyer

Why even use a lawyer these days? You can download a wide variety of legal documents, from non-disclosure agreements to wills to leases and fill in the blanks yourself. Even lawyers have been heard to note that the practice is sometimes 90% marking up precedents. Why not save the money and do at least basic stuff yourself? The answer, as self-serving as it may sound, is that the remaining 10% is often where all the issues reside. At this point, it might be useful to point out that chimpanzees and humans share 98.8% of their DNA, but that 1.2% makes a rather noticeable difference. Among other things, chimpanzees have not yet developed a legal system, or at least a written one. And few of us can swing from trees. If in doubt, I and many other lawyers offer a free initial consultation. You may decide after that to go ahead and do it yourself, and that may be the right decision—but sometimes, it is worth it to at least check in.