David:
It all depends on what state you are in. There is a case going through
the Texas court system right now regarding whether the Nolo Press forms
are "ULP." In fact, you may find some useful info at Nolo's web site.
To develop a decent policy, I suggest you look at other web sites and
see what they are doing. Some will have had good legal advice -- other
public interest law organizations, and commercial entities, such as
accounting firms, or tax preparers who have to deal with these questions
and stay on the right side of the line.
Ellen
> David Selden wrote:
>
> This message is cross-posted on lawlibref-l, law-lib and
> StateCountyLawLib-l. Please excuse the duplication.
>
> Our library is currently developing a reference service policy which
> addresses service limits or guidelines to help us avoid unauthorized
> practice of law. I would be most grateful if you could share any
> ideas or sample policies or guidelines that address this issue. I
> will summarize for the list if there is enough interest.
>
> Background
> Development of a reference services policy is especially important to
> us since we have a very unique collection and nearly 90% of our
> patrons access our services from remote locations. Many of the
> resources in our collection are not available elsewhere, so in a
> sense, we are the library of last resort for most of our patrons.
> Unlike most county, state or law school law libraries, we can not
> request that the patron visit our library where we can direct them to,
> and show them how to use specific print sources of law.
>
> Here is what we have done so far regarding this issue.
> 1) Read Robin K. Mills "Reference Service vs. Legal Advice: Is it
> Possible to Draw the Line?" 72 Law Library Journal 179
> 2) Read "Legal Reference Service: the Delivery Process" 72 Law Library
> Journal 47
> 3) We think our guidelines should include:
> A) a legal disclaimer to use in response to information
> requests;
> B) time limits;
> C) policy to avoid offering advice or opinions (offer to make
> referrals)
> D) where applicable, direct the patron and coach them on how to
> use pertinent resources on the Internet )
>
> In addition, we have established a goal to create a self service
> environment by offering our electronic library catalog on the
> Internet, and by creating other self service Internet searchable
> databases.
>
> David Selden
> Native American Rights Fund
> National Indian Law Library
> 1522 Broadway
> Boulder, CO 80302
> dselden@narf.org
> Tel (303) 447-8760
> fax (303) 443-7776
-- =========================================================== Ellen M. Poler epoler@interaccess.com Attorney at Law PHONE: 773-871-2557 431 West Oakdale Avenue FAX: 773-871-30328 Chicago IL 60657 ============================================================
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