[1][2][3] Unbundled legal services, limited scope retainers or discrete task representation are available in multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, as well as the Canadian provinces of British Columbia[4][5] and Ontario.
"[9] According to the New York State Bar Association, "[u]nbundling is seen as a way to increase legal access for middle income consumers..." "Clients find unbundling attractive because it saves money and gives them more control over the process and strategy decisions.
Another California family law attorney, M. Sue Talia, helped popularize unbundled legal services.
Unbundled attorneys also began combining this new representation technique with emerging technologies such as teleconferencing and cloud computing.
The client maintains responsibility for the other aspects of the lawsuit, such as filing, corresponding with the court and opposing counsel and generally prosecuting their case.
[22] In April 2010, the New York County Law Association echoed the ABA opinion by formally giving its blessing to the practice of legal ghostwriting as consistent with the state bar’s ethical rules.
[25] Moreover, full-service attorneys handle all aspects of a case and can be liable for legal malpractice should they be negligent in their representation of clients.
Some jurisdictions have ruled that ghostwriting by attorneys is prohibited, claiming that failing to disclose their assistance to a self-represented client would be misleading to the court and their adversary in the lawsuits.
Others oppose legal ghostwriting because they believe it would allow an attorney to evade responsibility for a frivolous lawsuit filed by their client.
The reason for this is that judges have had a history of giving pro se litigants more leeway in the courtroom to make up for their lack of experience.
Where an attorney used the ghostwriting technique to avoid disclosing that he was not admitted in the state where the case was filed, it may be ruled unethical.
[33] With the emergence of do-it-yourself companies that sell blank legal documents like LegalZoom, lawyers must compete with new low-cost options.