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> even knowing what to ask a lawyer can be difficult That's the lawyer's job, to guide you through ! If they're not doing that, then find a different lawyer.

> even knowing what to ask a lawyer can be difficult That's the lawyer's job, to guide you through ! If they're not doing that, then find a different lawyer. The whole point is we are talking about legal document review here. Reviewing legal documents necessarily involves an active discussion with a lawyer, it is not something you can turn up with pre-prepared questions for.

drbwaa 4y ago
> That's the lawyer's job, to guide you through ! If they're not doing that, then find a different lawyer. Yes! And if you happen to know that, and have a good lawyer, then you're all set. But a hell of a lot of lawyers won't volunteer to do this, or aren't competent enough to have this conversation productively with a layperson, and most people don't know to ask for it. I have my doubts as to the practicality, but a tool that could summarize and then prompt laypeople go to their lawyer to start that discussion seems like it could definitely have value. I suspect most people interested in this tool may already be knowledgeable enough to ask for a walkthrough anyway, but you could imagine implementations where the summary is presented directly, and could guide more people toward the help they need.
- traceroute66 4y ago
  > competent enough to have this conversation productively with a layperson HUH ? That is literally their job ! Legal document review is bread and butter for lawyers. Having productive conversations with laypeople is what lawyers do all day every day. I really don't get your point. If a lawyer is unable to have a productive conversation with a layperson about a legal document, then they need to be stripped of their qualifications.
  - fnordpiglet 4y ago
    That’s not their job - their job is to make persuasive legal arguments, craft legal language to be ironclad, etc. Similarly a top researchers in CS isn’t employed for their ability to explain CS, despite the fact we employ them to do just that.
  - yunwal 4y ago
    There are plenty of lawyers who are not competent at their jobs, but can be convincing to uninformed laypeople.
jakelazaroff 4y ago
That's true, but you still should (try to) be prepared. Meeting with a lawyer will go much more smoothly if you have at least a rudimentary understanding of the subject matter, rather than having them explain everything to you from first principles.
- freejazz 4y ago
  And you can also waste half the time having the lawyer explain to you that what detangle told you was wrong...

drbwaa 4y ago

> That's the lawyer's job, to guide you through ! If they're not doing that, then find a different lawyer. Yes! And if you happen to know that, and have a good lawyer, then you're all set. But a hell of a lot of lawyers won't volunteer to do this, or aren't competent enough to have this conversation productively with a layperson, and most people don't know to ask for it. I have my doubts as to the practicality, but a tool that could summarize and then prompt laypeople go to their lawyer to start that discussion seems like it could definitely have value. I suspect most people interested in this tool may already be knowledgeable enough to ask for a walkthrough anyway, but you could imagine implementations where the summary is presented directly, and could guide more people toward the help they need.

traceroute66 4y ago
> competent enough to have this conversation productively with a layperson HUH ? That is literally their job ! Legal document review is bread and butter for lawyers. Having productive conversations with laypeople is what lawyers do all day every day. I really don't get your point. If a lawyer is unable to have a productive conversation with a layperson about a legal document, then they need to be stripped of their qualifications.
- fnordpiglet 4y ago
  That’s not their job - their job is to make persuasive legal arguments, craft legal language to be ironclad, etc. Similarly a top researchers in CS isn’t employed for their ability to explain CS, despite the fact we employ them to do just that.
- yunwal 4y ago
  There are plenty of lawyers who are not competent at their jobs, but can be convincing to uninformed laypeople.

jakelazaroff 4y ago

That's true, but you still should (try to) be prepared. Meeting with a lawyer will go much more smoothly if you have at least a rudimentary understanding of the subject matter, rather than having them explain everything to you from first principles.

freejazz 4y ago
And you can also waste half the time having the lawyer explain to you that what detangle told you was wrong...