Intuit is closing its 'Slideshare' competitor, 'Docstoc' on 1st December 2015

I saw this story recently which has prompted this blog : https://lnkd.in/eJuHepH 

Elements of this story are really quite strange - Not least the fact that NASDAQ traded 'Intuit' appears to have valued the relevant venture (upon acquisition) at 'upwards of USD $50 million' in December 2013, before closing the venture down within two (<2) years!

Fundamentally, my view is that if a businessman wants access to (say) a template legal document (for use in their business), they can most likely do an awful lot better than spend considerable time trying to find an appropriate 'base' document by 'trawling the internet'.

A considerable part of the skill of a qualified lawyer is in selecting a carefully drafted precedent, which is legally up-to-date (in the relevant jurisdiction in which it will be used) and which is otherwise an entirely appropriate document (often with drafting / guidance notes) for use in the relevant envisaged circumstances.

Such a document can be provided by a lawyer for a clients' own use - quickly, easily and for a very modest fee.

Don't believe me - Please feel free to try me!

Should further legal input by way of advice and / or assistance be (in practice) required, I (personally) would much rather take that action in relation to a precedent / template I had provided - rather than the instruction which all lawyers dread, namely :

e.g. 'I've found a document upon the internet and drafted from it to fit my purposes, but I'm not sure about one or two elements, so please will you review what I've done and approve it for me'.  

More often than not, such an approach leads to an unavoidable recognition that it is simply not possible to turn the resultant 'sow's ear into a silk purse' (at least not without uneconomic expense).

I am reminded of the anecdote of the traveler in a strange land, who hopelessly lost - consultants the locals for assistance as to how to reach the traveler's destination.
'I wouldn't start from here' came the reply!

For some reason - That always makes me laugh!

Do please let me know if I can help - prior to taking a D.I.Y. approach.

The result will be much better and not as expensive as you may think.   

Dan.Johnson@EquitableLaw.com
 +44 (0) 7788 537 187 (U.K. Cell.)