With Mississippi’s U.S. Legal Forms
With Mississippi’s U.S. Legal Forms
Legal documents are only a click away
By David Tisdale
You may not have to go to a lawyer every time you need certain types of legal assistance, thanks to the development of an online legal website by a Jackson-area lawyer and his associates.
Frank Edens, CEO of U.S Legal Forms (USLF), and his staff of 25 employees provide legal services for clients nationwide through the Internet. USlegalforms.com offers clients the ability to access up-to-date, state-specific legal documents online. Edens and Lem Adams III incorporated USLF in August of 1999, following the success of Mississippi Legal Forms (MSLegalforms.com).
Karen Hammons of Magnolia has used USLF’s services, purchasing five legal forms online, the majority for the handling of a trust.
“For people who don’t have the time or the money to go to a lawyer, it’s a tremendous asset,” Hammons said. “They have a convenient website that makes it very easy to use, to find the documents that are right for your state (of residence), since law codes are different in every state.”
USLF offers more than 30,000 state specific legal forms for attorneys and the public.
Hammons said she even went to an attorney to review the document she completed to make certain it was in proper order. “Even having an attorney review one that you’ve completed is still not as expensive as having it originate with an attorney.”
She said the attorney who reviewed the document said that it was “excellent” and that “he could not have done a better job himself.”
Edens, a member of the Jackson law firm of Adams and Edens, said the USLF website enables users to preview legal forms and descriptions before they buy, so they know in advance they are selecting the document appropriate for their needs. Once a form is selected, customers can download it online or have it mailed.
The website also features office products, a law bookstore, handbooks and guides, as well as a variety of form packages, including name change, divorce, bankruptcy, landlord tenant, last will and testament power of attorney, living wills and real estate, among others.
“We sell forms to lawyers, and we also sell to small businesses and to the general public,” Edens said. Among the most popular forms on US Legalforms.com are landlord tenant, name change, last will and testament, power of attorney, living wills and real estate. Other forms include those for liens, Internet technology, premarital agreements, separation agreements and promissory notes.
Site links include those for an estate planning questionnaire and free advice for other legal questions.
Edens emphasized that USLF is not a “self help site,” but a resource for attorneys and people who have a basic understanding of how to use legal forms. “It’s been very popular and more and more people are visiting the website looking for the products that we sell,” he said.
Other items available through USLF include office products, books and attorney directories.
Prior to the formation of USLF, Edens and Adams developed LawNetCom (LNC) in 1995, and through LNC provided other Internet legal services, including MSLawyer.com, which provided more than 25 legal databases.
Other services produced through LNC included websites for the Mississippi Supreme Court, as well as development of a system to publish its decisions, court rules and other court information online. The Mississippi Bar, Mississippi Administrative Office of Courts and the University of Mississippi Continuing Legal Education Center have also benefited from LNC’s services.
Edens and his associates have also conducted seminars for judges across the state on how to effectively use the Internet for legal research. LNC and MSLawyer.com were sold in 2002 so Edens and Adams could concentrate on developing USLF.
The Internet has been a tremendous asset to the legal community since its development, Edens said. “It has made it easier for lawyers to do their job, because they can find things that we provide and do research a lot easier and find a lot of information that before wasn’t that easy to find,” he said.
USLF offices are located at 3720 Flowood Drive in Flowood. For more information, visit the website at www.US Legalforms.com or call 1(877)389-0141.
You may contact David at davidtisdale@yahoo.com
