What is a Legal Document Assistant?

A legal document assistant (LDA), also known as a legal document preparer or document technician, is a non-lawyer who provides assistance with the preparation of legal documents. LDAs typically help individuals with routine legal tasks, such as completing forms for various legal processes like divorces, wills, trusts, name changes, and small claims court filings.

In many jurisdictions, LDAs are not allowed to provide legal advice or represent clients in court. Instead, they offer administrative support by filling out forms based on the information provided by the client. LDAs may also offer other services like filing documents with the appropriate court or administrative agency.

The regulations governing LDAs vary by jurisdiction, and in some places, LDAs may be required to meet certain educational or certification requirements. It's important for individuals using the services of an LDA to understand the limitations of their role and seek legal advice from a licensed attorney when needed.

What does an LDA do?

A legal document assistant (LDA) primarily assists individuals with the preparation of various legal documents. Here's a breakdown of what an LDA typically does:

1. Document Preparation: LDAs help individuals complete legal forms accurately and efficiently. This may include forms for processes like divorces, wills, trusts, name changes, landlord-tenant disputes, small claims court filings, and more.

2. Information Gathering: LDAs interview clients to gather the necessary information required for completing the legal documents. They ensure all relevant details are provided to accurately fill out the forms.

3. Form Customization: Depending on the specific needs of the client and the requirements of the legal process, LDAs customize forms to suit individual circumstances. This may involve tailoring language or including specific clauses as needed.

4. Document Review: After preparing the documents, LDAs review them carefully to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance with legal requirements. They may also provide guidance on any additional steps that need to be taken.

5. Filing Assistance: In some cases, LDAs assist clients with filing their completed documents with the appropriate court or administrative agency. They may provide guidance on the filing process and ensure that all necessary paperwork is submitted correctly.

6. Follow-Up Support: LDAs may offer follow-up support to clients, such as tracking the progress of their filings, responding to inquiries from courts or agencies, and providing guidance on any further actions required.

# cURL is most likely already installed on your machine
curl --version

Making your first API request

After picking your preferred client, you are ready to make your first call to the Protocol API. Below, you can see how to send a GET request to the Conversations endpoint to get a list of all your conversations. In the cURL example, results are limited to ten conversations, the default page length for each client.

curl -G https://api.protocol.chat/v1/conversations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
  -d limit=10

What's next?

Great, you're now set up with an API client and have made your first request to the API. Here are a few links that might be handy as you venture further into the Protocol API:

• Grab your API key from the Protocol dashboard
• Check out the Conversations endpoint
• Learn about the different error messages in Protocol