Customer: I’d like my ____________ (insert “divorce,” “estate plan,” “construction litigation,” “personal injury matter,” etc.) handled by LegalZoom. The company has really nice TV ads. I like them.

Lawyer: Sorry, the company can’t do that. That would be the unauthorized practice of law.

Legislator: I can see Russia from my house.

BOOM!!! There’s a big, blank spot where the unauthorized practice of law statute used to be. The customer’s happy. The legislator gets reelected. You’re working for LegalZoom (if you’re lucky), and the unauthorized practice of law people get used to asking, “Would you like fries with that?”

I laugh out loud when I hear the “unauthorized practice of law” line. Have those of you uttering that line ever met a real-life legislator? I have.

Just for your information, most of them aren’t Harvard-educated lawyers on the fast track to become President of the United States. Most of them didn’t go to Harvard. Most of them aren’t lawyers. Lately, Russia has been getting a lot of visibility.

LegalZoom is considering an initial public offering. It has already raised $45 million in venture capital. Most of that money has been spent building the brand. What will a few hundred million more dollars mean for its business? More importantly, what will it mean for yours?

So what are we doing about it?

Here’s my take:

When I write about lawyers being polite and having good manners, I get great feedback. You send e-mails, post blog comments, and tweet my article.

When, however, I write about changing your practice, becoming unique, and doing things differently, you evaporate. I’ve had some readers go so far as to ridicule some of my proposals. I’m okay with being ridiculed (I live with teenagers, so I’m used to it).

But it strikes me that we’re change resistant. We don’t want to hear about it. It seems like we’re going to ignore the ideas that would allow us to adapt and keep doing what we’re doing.

Right up until the point when we can see Russia from our houses.