A business that was fined for the unauthorized practice of law by the Supreme Court in Jefferson County, N.Y., has set up shop at 205 N. Laura St.
NextGenJustice was doing business under the name Legal Docs by Me when it opened early in 2014 in Watertown and Syracuse, N.Y.
Derek Distenfield said he opened the business to provide a service for military personnel, families and small business owners who had simple legal issues but could not afford to pay an attorney.
Distenfield’s idea was to provide, for a flat fee, forms and instructions people could use to handle some of their own legal matters.
Soon after the business opened, the local Bar association in New York filed a complaint with the state attorney general, claiming the company was practicing law without a license.
After an investigation, a judge signed an order in October prohibiting the company from being paid for the preparation of legal documents and offering legal advice.
The order also prevented the company from selecting or providing advice to customers on the use of certain documents and offering opinions on what to include or omit in legal documents, among other prohibitions.
Distenfield was ordered to pay a $15,000 civil fine and refund all fees collected from customers. “Whenever you disrupt an industry, there are people who don’t want change,” Distenfield said recently.
Based on the action by the New York court, the business model was changed, he said, as was the name of the company. Distenfield opened offices in Jacksonville and Tampa.
When a customer comes into the office, the first step is for the customer to sign an agreement including a disclaimer that NextGenJustice is not a law firm, does not provide attorneys or legal services and cannot and does not provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion or recommendations.
The customer pays a fee of $29 to $499, depending on the legal form they select. Forms available include those for prenuptial agreement, uncontested divorce, power of attorney, incorporation, copyright and federal income tax forms.
Then, Distenfield said, the customer is handed an iPad connected to smartlegalforms.com.
The company is an online provider of automated legal documents that, through a monthly subscription, may be used by people who want to start an online or storefront retail legal forms business.
The customer follows the instructions and fills out the form, which is printed in the NextGenJustice office. The customer may then sign the form and file it at their expense at the Duval County Courthouse.
“The customer selects the form. We just provide the technology that allows people to represent themselves,” Distenfield said.
If needed, notary public and courier serves are available for an additional charge, said Distenfield.
The legal forms on NextGenJustice’s menu also are available from other sources, including online providers such as legalzoom.com, which charges a fee for each form, and flcourt.org, where simple legal forms with complete instructions are available at no charge.
When asked why a consumer would use his service and pay a fee instead of just doing it themselves, Distenfield said that’s a question he’s asked almost every day.
“Some people want the brick-and-mortar experience with human interaction,” he said. “We’re not for everybody, but there is a giant market in the middle between online legal forms and hiring an attorney.”
Distenfield is quick to point out the concept behind his company is not to disenfranchise the legal profession and NextGenJustice can’t meet the needs of everyone with a legal matter.
“We’re not anti-lawyer, we’re pro-consumer,” he said. “We send people to lawyers every day. When you need a litigator, you need a litigator.”
When asked about the business, a spokesman at the Florida Attorney General’s Office said there is an active investigation into the company and that it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.
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