As We Knew, as We Feared

Confirmation this morning from Lexis, that U.S. Adults More Likely to Turn to the Web For Legal Information, New Survey From lawyers.com Reveals.

Almost three times as many U.S. adults today turn to the Internet to get advice and information about legal matters, aside from asking a lawyer, than they did six years ago (27% in 2006 versus 10% in 2000), according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive.

“Besides lawyers, traditional sources of legal advice, such as friends and family, are on the decline today as consumers increasingly turn to widely-available online resources to become better informed about their legal rights and responsibilities. The challenge is knowing what information is trustworthy,” said attorney Alan Kopit, legal editor of lawyers.com. “Consumers need to look to reputable web sites and investigate the source of legal information they find online before they rely on it.”

“People have unprecedented access to legal information that had once been only the purview of legal professionals – everything from a checklist for preparing for a divorce to access to lawyers’ credentials – in a way that was never possible before,” said Kopit.

More signs of the Apocalypse