Post Idea Feedback...

I would be interested in that! I like all the information offered through this web site.

 

I'd say that would be a great idea if you want this board to be shut down permanently for unauthorized practice of law and get the membership lists subpoenaed so the members who did the posting of such information thrown in jail for the same thing.

That might or might not happen but people have been charged and went to jail for doing a lot less than you suggest doing here.

There is a large publishing house which sells office supplies to such places as Office Depot, Staples and many more who put out just exactly what you are talking about. They print and sell blank legal forms such as wills, lis pendense forms, and a wide range of such products all over the nation. They were putting their forms and instruction books on the internet too.

The state of Texas filed an unauthorized practice of law case against them but lost their case. It cost the company dearly to defend. Several millions of dollars. Even though they beat the rap they no longer put such information on the internet.

None of us here can afford to even take the chance that posting such information as you suggest on the internet might get us arrested, hauled to Texas or some other state to sit in jail awaiting trial, and get convicted because we don't have the deep pockets to defend. I hear those Texas chain gangs leave a whole lot to be desired.

I seriously doubt that the management of Creditnet wants to take the chance of getting sued for allowing the posting of such information either. They can't throw a corporation in jail but they can cost it big bucks to defend.

Everybody else can do what they want about posting such information but I've heard about several people getting hauled to Texas and other states over the years for unauthoized practice of law and losing and I'm not about to take the chance of having that happen to me.

 

I think this could be a helpful post, if done correctly. Per the above post, this is dangerous ground, and the proper "format" is crucial. Each person does have the right to represent themselves in a court of law, and they also have the right to research and prepare as anyone going into court would.

As long as the presentation of material is only presented as "experiences", and not instruction, I think there is no issue over "practicing law". The courts themselves often have instructions and suggestions for bringing cases to small claims and lower level courts. An "overview" of general legal proceedings is not practicing law. I suggest no encouragement of following a certain procedure or method. Strong disclaimers and caveats must also be added.

But, it is becoming more of a requirement for persons to make that giant leap into taking legal action. "ITS" letters are losing their effectiveness just by the large number now sent to creditors.

I think exploring the legal process is a natural evolution of these boards. It is educational progession in what a consumer can do for themselves.

 

It is not what we think but rather what the bar associations and attorneys generals think that matters.

True, but the instructions are almost always "GO GET A LAWYER" OR "DON'T SHOW UP IN MY COURT AGAIN WITHOUT A LAWYER"
Go ask a county clerk or prothonotary for help and they will usually tell you they can't advise you.

And why is that? I will tell you why that is true. It is true because people who send them have never followed the principle of "never point the gun unless you intend to pull the trigger". They have sent out ITS letters without knowing or following the rules that surround sending them nor how to word them properly. They have sent ill prepared letters and expected the recipient to fall over dead. And when that didn't happen they just sighed and went on to try some other equally dumb trick found on some forum.
An Intent to sue is a precise legal document not just a letter which says "Bang! Bang! You're dead and if you don't fall down I won't play". It is accompanied by a letter which gives the appropriate cause(s) of action(s)
If you send one you also need to know exactly how to state a claim upon which relief can be granted in court and prove your case.

Yes, I agree with that. But guess how many people have read such posts as are being proposed here and filed an untold number of pages filled up with all the legal theories they found on the internet which ended up saying absolutely nothing at all. Pages and pages of legal quotes, sometimes more than a 100 pages of nothing but pure legal gobble-de-gook and yet never established a case or said anything of value. I know of a case where a lawyer recently took two large cardboard file cabinets of such nonsense into court
to show the judge. The defendant had paid some internet expert a substantial amount of money for it all. The lawyer wanted the court to lay a heavy sanction on the defendant for filing all that stuff.

And don't forget that just having a law degree don't keep lawyers from filing dumb stuff either. They do it all the time but they will most likely get away with it because they are lawyers, Ossifers of the court. (misspelling intentional)

 

Here is a case for some study. This case has not yet been adjudicated as far as I can tell. I'm betting that the judge in the case will deny this man's demands and still not tell him anything. Why do I believe that? Simply because I've seen this type of thing attempted several times and the result has always been the same. Court denies the motion so I have to believe that the same thing will happen here. This was posted in another forum (yahoo egroup) so I'm sure that when Mr. Ford gets his answer he will post it in the same forum.

I make no comment as to whether or not it was properly prepared.
On a side note, I've seen several similiar postings by Mr. Ford in various forums.So far as I know he has not won a single case he has filed.

 

Yes, Jam, that is precisely what a correctly prepared ITS letter really is. What is proposed as an ITS letter which is to be found all over the internet with a wide range of variations in content is nothing more than a cover letter but not one that I have ever seen on any message forum is an actual viable intent to sue.

Cover letters posted all over the internet are nothing more than a farce and that is exactly why debt collectors or other recipients only laugh at them and chunk them in the round file. Like most VOD letters, they only serve to announce the fact that they are nothing but a bluff and are not to be concerned with.