What if you wake up in the morning and see an advertisement that says “Free Legal Documents?” Will that worry you?

What if you read the ad and it explains that anyone can come to a website, answer some questions, and the site will produce legal documents, ready to print or submit electronically for use in the courts or as settlement documentation?

Would that bother you?

Would it make you worry about whether you still have a job?

“No worries,” you say. Those document websites produce crappy forms that only get people into trouble. “They aren’t any competition,” you explain.

Well, what if the documents weren’t created by some crappy website? What if they were produced by some of the most prominent law firms in the world? What if, alternatively, they were produced by companies with millions of dollars they can use to hire the best and brightest lawyers, programmers, and executives? Would that make you nervous?

Why do I ask?

Well, Orrick, a 1,000+ attorney firm, puts out free documents at Start-Up Tool Kit.

Wilson Sonsini and its 600+ lawyers provide free documents at WSGR Term Sheet Generator.

But these aren’t family law sites, so who cares, right? They aren’t giving it away for free to our clients. They’re just giving it away to business people, right?

Oh no, there are family law sites as well.

Check out RocketLawyer and its family law forms. Much of what that site’s giving away isn’t perfect. If it hadn’t received nearly $20 million in venture funding a few weeks ago, we wouldn’t need to worry about it. I suspect the influx of funding will help the company tweak its product. I could draft some pretty good forms with $20,000,000. Couldn’t you?

If you’re selling documents, you’d better be prepared to sell them really, really cheap when the competition is giving them away for free.

If you’re selling something more than documents, then good for you.

What are you selling? When someone calls and asks how much a divorce costs, does your staff know how to answer that question? If they’re simply providing the price, then they don’t.

In initial consultations, are you explaining the value of your advice, or do clients walk out thinking they’ve just bought a separation agreement? Does your website explain the value of what you offer?

Are you competing in the unbundled arena? If so, is there a reason to buy your unbundled document when others are giving it away?

Do your clients think you sell documents or advice? Would they rather get it for free? Do they see value in what you’re offering?

I’ve been ranting about the idea that documents are going to be free for quite some time.

It’s happening now. It’s coming fast.

Are you ready?