Lawyer makes house calls, hospital visits

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This article was published 12/12/2016 (3214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Add legal services to pizza and beer on the list of things delivered to the doorstep.

Kyle Soble is a notary public, appointed by the provincial government to witness the signing of documents and oaths.

Where he does that, however, is up to his customers.

Kyle Soble created Winnipeg Mobile Notary about three years ago. He has been expanding his mobile legal market in Winnipeg ever since, and his clients come from “virtually every demographic.”

Soble’s mobile service covers notarization of basically any document, including wills and powers of attorney. Soble had practised law for more than 20 years before starting the service.

“I’m just trying to get ahead of the societal shift and improve people’s access to the legal system,” Soble said.

The legal business is changing, just like any other business, he said.

“Just look at Amazon. Look at the banks switching to mobile mortgage officers, or grocery stores delivering groceries,” he said.

“A lot of lawyers think in a very linear fashion — kind of one dimensional. I’m very cognizant of change.”

In Manitoba, a notary public is typically required to be a lawyer. Otherwise, documents can be signed before a commissioner for oaths. The difference is that documents signed before a commissioner for oaths are only recognized in Manitoba, whereas documents signed before a notary public are recognized internationally.

Soble visits clients’ homes, workplaces or their favourite coffee shop.

He also makes frequent stops in hospitals and senior homes because many of his clients are physically unable to visit a legal office.

Soble’s regular business hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., but for urgent matters, meetings outside those hours can be arranged, he said.

He has met clients as late as 1 a.m.

“I feel satisfaction in that I do help a significant number of people who might have been left out of the system otherwise,” Soble said.

“That puts a smile on my face that I never had before (in my career).”

The prices of Soble’s services are comparable to those of other notary public, he said.

Since he doesn’t pay for an office, his prices are significantly lower than what people pay for “the guys downtown.”

“(My business) is quite informal, non-traditional, yet professional,” Soble said.

Soble’s is the only mobile notary service in Manitoba, but there are mobile notary services in other provinces, including Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

While Soble’s mobile legal model can be considered progressive, there has been talk of e-notarization models being developed in the United States. It entails a notary public and a signer rendering their signatures electronically or over webcam.

E-notarization isn’t legal in Canada, but Soble said those models may be crossing the line.

“Doing it ‘old school’ prevents any kind of hacking or other issues,” he said.

“(E-notarization) might improve people’s access on the upside, but on the downside, how do you regulate it?”

It’s not just a sense of security that Soble said he would miss if e-notarization were made legal.

“I enjoy getting out and meeting people the way I do,” he said.

“It makes you feel like you’re actually helping people out.”

rebecca.dahl@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @rebeccadaahl