I’m pleased to announce that the Globe and Mail has released their article about Dynamic Lawyers, my pitch to CBC Dragon’s Den, and our Legal Forms + Video Guides! Here’s the link to the article:

Here’s the actual text of the article:

“Lawyer spins website for Dragons; Seeks venture capital to take do-it-yourself law site across country”

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.”

written by admin \\ tags: dragon's den, Dynamic Lawyers, legal forms video guides

I wanted to say thanks to family, friends, and clients for helping me to prepare for my CBC’s Dragon’s Den pitch this Saturday (May 1).  Many are nervous for me. Others congratulate me.  And many others have been offering their two cents on what I should say and how I should respond to their questions.  I’ll be featuring my legal forms + video guides business.   I feel that I will have been sufficient prepared to enter the Den.  Besides, I’ve appeared and made arguments before courts, tribunals, city council, school boards, TV, radio, etc.  How is this any different?  I think it should be fun.  Remember: it’s REALITY TV!

written by admin \\ tags: cbc dragon's den, dragon's den, legal forms video guides

Todd Harrison of Precedent Magazine has written an online article about my upcoming pitch (Legal Forms + Video Guides) to CBC’s Dragon’s Den.  In the article, he mentions the Lawyers Weekly article about the same topic:

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So today I received a very nice phone call from a CBC producer to talk about my upcoming pitch about my Legal Forms + Video Guides to the Dragon’s (May 1st).  We came up with some very good ideas.  Now it’s up to me to prepare.  I’ve also got to get Parastou (my fiance) to come up with a giant poster featuring our Legal Forms + Video Guides.  Shouldn’t be too hard for her, as she’s practically done all the design work on Dynamic Lawyers from the get go.

Also today, I received an email from another CBC producer, advising that I can spread the word to the media about my pitch to the Dragon’s.  I won’t, however, be able to talk about the outcome, so don’t bother asking.   So, I figured I would put my pitch right here on the DL Blog:

written by admin \\ tags: cbc dragon's den, legal forms video guides, media release

I think it would be helpful to mention a few things about going on Dragon’s Den.  There seems to be a lot of confusion out there respecting the show, so let me help clear the air.  First of all, there is NO guarantee that my pitch to the Dragon’s (concerning Legal Forms + Video Guides) will AIR on TV.  If the CBC producers don’t believe it’s TV-worthy, it’ll get cut on the production floor.  And a HIGH percentage of pitches to the Dragon’s don’t make it.  Second, once I pitch (May 1st), I won’t be able to discuss the outcome with anyone.  Please don’t bother asking me.  I’ve agreed to their rules and won’t even be telling my own mother what the outcome was.  It’s easier for people like me (i.e. lawyers) to keep secrets because of the nature of our work (solicitor-client privilege).  Third, there are strict rules concerning who you can bring, what props you can bring, where you go, what you’re allowed to show (e.g. no powerpoint presentations), etc.  In order to actually have your pitch air on TV, it must be full of energy and creativity.  It has to stand out from the crowd. So that’s it for now re: CBC’s Dragon’s Den…I’ll keep you posted….BUT DON’T ASK ME WHAT HAPPENED!

written by admin \\ tags: cbc dragon's den, Dynamic Lawyers, legal forms video guides

Thanks go out to David Bilinsky (lawyer with the B.C. Law Society) for featuring Dynamic Lawyers’ Legal Forms + Video Guides in the Canadian Bar Association’s Practice Talk, Tech Tips, and now on his very popular Thoughtful Legal Management Blog.

Here’s what David wrote:

As of March 4, 2010 (the day of originally writing this column for the Canadian Bar Association) the Canadian legal competitive battlefield changed. Dynamic LawyersTM, led by Michael Carabash, B.A., LL.B., J.D., M.B.A., Founder/President, formally launched their website: www.dynamiclawyers.com.

Have a look – Carabash, a Toronto business lawyer, is one of a growing list of new entrants into the area of online legal services. What makes his web services a bit different is the use of online video guides that aid purchasers to complete the legal forms that he has made available. He also has a blog and an “online legal health checkup”.

Dynamic LawyersTM joins other online legal service providers such as LegalZoom that are seeking to tap the “do it yourself” legal consumer market.

Wow, David!  Thanks for comparing us to LegalZoom.  We just came out a month ago and we’ve already been featured in Newstalk 1010, Goldhawk Live, the National Post’s blog, Lawyers Weekly, and now David’s blog!  It’s keeping me motivated to keep adding…

written by admin \\ tags: david bilinsky, Dynamic Lawyers, guides, legal forms, legal forms video guides, thoughtful legal management blog, video tutorials

I was pleased to see David Bilinsky, writing for the Canadian Bar Association (“CBC”), discuss our legal forms + video guides, free legal health checkup, and this blog (among other things).  In Dave’s Tech Tips, David talked about various online legal websites.  He mentioned many websites that offer legal forms – such as us and legalzoom (which is a great compliment since we’ve only been around for less than 1 month).  The funny thing, and I pointed this out to David in an email, is that many of those websites (www.AdviceScene.com, www.CanadaLegal.com, etc.) actually don’t have legal forms but merely redirect traffic OUR WAY!  Then, in Practice Talk, David wrote the following (in part):

As of yesterday – March 4, 2010 (the day of writing this column) the Canadian legal competitive battlefield changed. Dynamic Lawyers, led by Michael Carabash, B.A., LL.B., J.D., M.B.A., Founder/President, formally launched their website: www.dynamiclawyers.com. [actually, our website launched in November 2008; we only recently launched our legal forms + video guides, which I think what David was referring to]

Have a look – Carabash, a Toronto business lawyer, is one of a growing list of new entrants into the area of online legal services. What makes his web services a bit different is the use of online video guides that aid purchasers to complete the legal forms that he has made available. He also has a blog: http://dynamiclawyers.com/DL_blog/ and an “online legal health checkup”: http://dynamiclawyers.com/cois_interview.php.

Dynamic Lawyers joins other online legal service providers such as LegalZoom: www.legalzoom.com that are seeking to tap the “do it yourself” legal consumer market…

written by admin \\ tags: Dynamic Lawyers, dynamiclawyers.com, legal forms video guides

I am very pleased to announce that Mitch Kowalski has just published an article about our Legal Forms + Video Guides on the Financial Post’s Legal Post.

written by admin \\ tags: cloud, financial post legal post, legal forms video guides, mitch kowalski

We’ve been working diligently on putting together a great Wills package.  So far, we’ve got a 7 page Will, 2 pages worth of Affidavits for Attesting Witnesses (great for estate administration matters) so you don’t need to look for the witnesses later and have them sign the Affidavits, a 22 page DL Guide and another 8 page DL Guide.  We’re also putting together a 10-15 minute video guide to show you an example of how to customize the Will.  The first Will that we’re offering is going to be very simple.   It’s going to allow you to appoint your estate trustee and pay out the residue of your estate (i.e. the leftovers after paying off your debts) to your surviving spouse.  If your spouse is not alive at the time of your death or dies within 30 days of your death, then the residue of your estate will go to your surviving issue (i.e. your children, grand children, great grand children, etc.).  This is a basic Will, so it’s not going to have long and relatively complicated clauses dealing with RRSPs, Life Insurance policies, gifting of particular articles, multiple estate trustees, spousal trusts, etc.  It’s the simplest Will we could put together!  As part of launching our first Will on Dynamic Lawyers, we’re going to be putting out a TON of free legal information about Ontario Wills.  Remember, we’re not only offering a simple Will here (with an outright distribution to your spouse), but we also have Powers of Attorney (for Personal Care and Property), a Living Will, and a Codicil in case you need to amend an existing Will.  The Will and the Codicil both come with affidavits which you can take to a commissioner for taking affidavits (i.e. a lawyer) to commission and include with your Will.  Very cool and exciting stuff…I’ll keep you posted…

written by admin \\ tags: codicil, legal forms video guides, ontario codicil, ontario last will and testament, personal care, powers of atorney, property

Next month, we’ll back to audition to be on CBC’s Dragon’s Den.  Gotta love that show!  I think that show, together with Shark Tank, Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen (I love to cook if you haven’t guessed it) are the best business shows to watch.  That’s right: I said business.  There are so many important lessons about running an effective business which can be gleamed from those shows.  Yes, there’s drama and emotion and the reality of it all…but there’s also strategy, advice, and great ideas.   Anyways…I decided that I’m going to pitch the Legal Forms + Video Guides aspect of Dynamic Lawyers to the CBC producers in Toronto and see what happens…maybe they’ll like it enough to invite me to be on the show (Season 6)?

FYI, you can see our audition video here.  It’s temporarily on page 4 but will likely be pushed back a few pages once new auditions are added.

written by admin \\ tags: dragon's den, Dynamic Lawyers, legal forms video guides