Patent Application
20110161826
This application includes material which is subject or may be subject to copyright and/or trademark protection. The copyright and trademark owner(s) has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by any of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and trademark rights whatsoever.
(1) Field of the Invention
In general the invention relates to systems of document generation and dispute resolution. More particularly, the invention relates to databases, networks, methods, graphical user interfaces and other means to facilitate the delivery of legal services and dispute resolution.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Database systems and document control methods are known in the related art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,065,515 by Ciaramitaro and assigned to General Motors describes a system of storing, associating and selecting documents. But, the known related art fails to enable the nuanced production of legal documents integrated into a system to facilitate the specialized protocols for establishing attorney-client relationships.
The present invention overcomes shortfalls many in the known related art by presenting an unobvious and unique combination and configuration of databases, user interfaces, document protocols, attorney client development procedures, dispute resolution procedures and other tools to create an efficient and confidential online environment suitable for the initiation and delivery of legal services.
The present invention solves other shortfalls in the related art by presenting a starter set of legal forms and sample legal documents to consumers and means of communication between consumers and a pool of legal professionals who have established presence within the system and who have access to the documents selected by the potential client. In the current attorney-client paradigm, various self help books are available to consumers and consumers have access to phone books and means to search the entire Internet for attorneys or law firms who have search friendly web sites. This traditional attorney search method fails to direct consumers to attorneys who are familiar with the literature in the hands of the consumer.
The disclosed system solves the current problem of consumers relying upon random and unreliable legal documents found on the Internet at large and then presenting unrealistic expectations and a faulty grasp of the law during initial meetings with attorneys. The disclosed system solves this problem by use of peer review, and other means of quality assurance such that only accurate and appropriate legal documents are presented to consumers who have entered the system. Legal professionals are rewarded within the system for authoring and reviewing legal documents and thus gain an ownership interest and familiarity with the system documents.
After an attorney-client relationship is established, the disclosed system uses various modules to confidentially present and exchange legal documents and communications between the attorney and client. Other modules facilitate electronic signing and verification of documents and require proof of identification before allowing the review of documents.
The invention presents many new advantages to the consumer by providing means of selection and review of legitimate legal documents and legal information that comport with the views of a pool of available attorneys. Consumers are also provided with means of drafting their own legal documents by use of system forms and assistance provided in videos, pictures and written instructions. Consumer completed forms may be optionally reviewed by a legal professional selected by the consumer. Thus, a consumer by act as a “pro per” within the legal system, but yet have access to legal help on an as needed basis.
The invention presents many new advantages to participating attorneys by, inter alia, providing a pool of potential clients who are not burdened with legal myths and unrealistic expectations. Attorneys within the system are also presented with modules to seamlessly track their time and expenses and that produce and deliver bills to clients.
Occasionally, attorney-client relationships and other relationships deteriorate. Traditionally, resolution of business disputes or attorney fee disputes involve costly discovery battles as each side attempts to locate or obfuscate documents and communications. The present invention overcomes this shortfall by tracking and storing all documents, communications, time records and billing statements. The invention discloses a non judicial dispute resolution system wherein a neutral arbitrator is presented with system documents and information as well as separate briefs and evidence provided by the parties.
The following detailed description is directed to certain specific embodiments of the invention. However, the invention can be embodied in a multitude of different ways as defined and covered by the claims and their equivalents. In this description, reference is made to the drawings wherein like parts are designated with like numerals throughout.
Unless otherwise noted in this specification or in the claims, all of the terms used in the specification and the claims will have the meanings normally ascribed to these terms by workers in the art.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in a sense of “including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number, respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application.
The above detailed description of embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while steps are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments may perform routines having steps in a different order. The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not only the systems described herein. The various embodiments described herein can be combined to provide further embodiments. These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of the detailed description.
All the above references and U.S. patents and applications are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions and concepts of the various patents and applications described above to provide yet further embodiments of the invention.
These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of the above detailed description. In general, the terms used in the following claims, should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above detailed description explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses the disclosed embodiments and all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention under the claims.
Referring to
The selected lawyer will receive a message 106, the message having a link or other means to access the consumer prepared document. Upon activating such a link, the lawyer will enter a page 107 to login or register with the system. Upon logging in, the document is displayed within a lawyer's document manger page 108.
Prior to sharing documents with a lawyer, a consumer establishes a relationship with a selected lawyer by sending the lawyer an invitation to communicate 119 which may be viewed by a lawyer on a lawyer's account management page 110.
Referring to
The originator's account management page 203 or interface may display all documents created by the originator, the status of all documents, history of revisions. An originator may move to an online word processor 204 to further edit documents. Each saved document version is saved in a history 207 database. After revising a document, the originator has the option of notifying a recipient of such changes. Messages to a document share recipient 208 may take the form of email and prompt a recipient to login or register 107 into the system before accessing a recipient's document manager page 209. The document manger page 209 or interface may display a shared page, print a shared page and, with appropriate permission, allow editing. A recipient's account management 210 page displays documents transmitted by an originator and the status of such documents. The recipient's account management 210 page also allows access to further editing, document revision history and other document attributes. Notice of document changes may be transmitted via a change notification message 205.
Referring to
Referring to the right hand side of
Referring to
Referring to
After completion of the selected form, a completion stage 406 or completion page provides means to review a guide page 407, start another task upon other parts 408 of the network, or open the completed document within the document manager 200. The guide page 407 may be considered a guide for understanding the potential use of the completed document and a guide for printing, signing, sharing and storing the document.
Referring to
The invention includes the following items:
Item 1. A networked based system for creating, managing, and sharing documents with customers and counsel and for resolving possible disputes between users of the system, the system comprising:
a) a host site computer system with means of communication with originator computers and lawyer computers;
b) the host site computer having an originator module with means of:
i. providing an originator the choice of sharing a legal form with a known lawyer and if no lawyer is known to the originator, providing means of searching for participating lawyers via communication with a lawyer management module;
ii. confirming the identity of the selected lawyer to confirm the presented name and email address of the selected lawyer;
iii. preventing shared documents from being opened by a lawyer until
the lawyer accepts a engagement proposal from an originator and further preventing a lawyer from opening a shared document until the identity of the lawyer has been confirmed by the originator;
iii. presenting shared documents with the appropriate originator;
iv. presenting shared documents with the appropriate lawyer;
vi. communicating with a lawyer management module;
v. allowing lawyers and originators to make changes and track changes to shared documents;
d) the host site computer having a lawyer management module with means of providing:
