After extended and heated debate Monday, the ABA adopted a resolution that would guide states in their regulation of nontraditional legal services.
Resolution 105 provides model regulatory objectives for state regulators considering how to regulate nontraditional legal service providers. These providers include online startup businesses and corporations, but also practitioners like the limited license legal technicians recently authorized in the state of Washington. The heart of the debate was over whether by adopting the resolution the House was endorsing the practice of law by nonlawyers.
The resolution was proposed by the Commission on the Future of Legal Services, a major project of immediate-past ABA president William Hubbard. Commission chair Judy Perry Martinez of New Orleans introduced it with a short speech noting that nontraditional legal services are now a significant economic force, and are already providing services for people of modest means.
