I recently wrote about Fiverr.com, the website selling goods and services, including legal writing and advice, in $5 increments. Now there is a new player in the $5 legal services market, the American Bar Association. Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit!

The new program, which is in beta testing in a few jurisdictions, is a partnership between the ABA and Rocket Lawyer. For $4.95, business owners can post a query on a website where participating ABA lawyers can race to post an answer and answer one follow-up question. If this exchange leads to an attorney-client relationship, it is apparently established in the traditional way, outside of e-commerce. Rocket Lawyer's founder says this fits with his business model of providing quick, easy and cost-effective access to legal help for small businesses.

While I don't know, my guess is that there will be a cost to the lawyers to participate. That's fair. Lawyers are already paying much more than $5 for leads, and something with the imprimatur of the ABA is worth paying for. The fact that some folks may make money off the enterprise does not offend my sense of right and wrong. I think we have moved beyond the days when sensible people think that money corrupts the purity of the law. While is does involve a lot that is noble, it is also a business.