Bar Talk
Michael Carabash, a Toronto lawyer touting a Web-based future of do-it-yourself law that he believes will transform the profession, has gone before the CBC's panel of venture capitalists on the television show Dragons' Den, looking for cash to expand his website across the country.
Mr. Carabash's site, dynamiclawyers.com, offers legal forms such as contracts or wills for clients to download and fill out themselves, at what he says is a fraction of the cost of having them drafted by a conventional lawyer.
For example, a "cohabitational agreement" for couples planning to live together costs $97. The site also allows users to post legal questions, and have them answered by lawyers.
"Think of it as self-serve law," says Mr. Carabash, who launched his website in 2008 and has promoted it since.
His inspiration is British author Richard Susskind's book The End of Lawyers, which argues that technology will force a radical reorganization of the legal profession.
"Everything that he has written in his book is my game plan," Mr. Carabash says, adding that he now gets all of his clients from his website.
Mr. Carabash said he couldn't reveal whether he was able to win over the skeptical investors on Dragons' Den. The episode is expected to air in the fall.
He said the show's producers have also asked him to put on hold his proposed book about his experience on the show. He did say that he was still shopping for venture capital: "Regardless of what happens on Dragons' Den, it was a great experience."
Bartalk@globeandmail.com