Society relies on professionals to guide, to treat, to represent and to know. We place an extraordinary amount of trust in their advice. The first lesson to be learned from medical self-diagnosis on the Internet is that a little knowledge can be very dangerous. The same is true of researching and handling even common legal issues. There are too many complications, too many exceptions, and too many potential courses of conduct for the ordinary mortal to wade through.

In law, some simple questions can be answered with confidence by almost anyone. Whom do you sue in a given situation? How long do you have to commence the action? Where can the case be brought?

However, even in such simple questions, there are finer gradations of choice. Who is a necessary party? Is there any toll on the statute of limitations? Of several venues, is one better than another?