March 4, 2004

Innovative legal document service celebrates grand opening

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

There's a good reason why there are so many lawyer jokes floating around. Lawyers are expensive. Just ask Deborah and Ken Uhtof, principal partners at the newly opened Valley Legal Documents LLC.

“Our service provides a convenient option, easily accessible to the residents of Almaden, Blossom Valley, and Santa Teresa,” said Ken. “Rather than traveling up to Palo Alto and going up to the 15th floor of some law firm where you're going to have to pay a $2,500 retainer fee, residents can come here and pay $350 for a simple divorce.”

“We help [clients] fill out the documents, so they're prepared when they go to court,” adds Deborah.

Last Saturday, Feb. 27, the Uhtof's celebrated the company's grand opening, with an official ribbon cutting ceremony led by the Vice Mayor Pat Dando.

Valley Legal Documents, who are not attorneys, provide self-help services only at your specific direction, specializing in assisting clients with several tasks you typically use an attorney for but are not legally obligated. Services include estate planning, name changes, low-cost divorce, and deeds.

Vice Mayor Pat Dando appeared enthused about the potential of Valley Legal Documents as well.

“I'm excited about any new business in District 10,” said Dando. “Ten percent of all new jobs in San Jose come from small business [like this]. Initially, I didn't know too much about the business, [but after talking with Ken and Deborah] I thought ‘what an innovative idea.'”

According to Ken, Valley Legal Documents is truly in a league of its own.

“There's no other service like this,” said Ken. “Typically, the people that come in here know what they want and represent themselves well. We are a low-cost service that caters to the publics' needs.”

In terms of responsibility, the Uhtof's have separate and specific shoes to fill. Ken, an Orange County transplant, who voyaged north for an engineering position nearly 30 years ago, mans the business operations, including finance, accounting, and marketing strategies. Deborah, also from Orange County, has the necessary technical expertise. She has worked as a paralegal and legal secretary for over 18 years and is currently a member of the California Association of Legal Document Assistants, as well as the Paralegal Association of Santa Clara County.

Valley Legal Documents LLC is located behind Oakridge Mall at 5406 Thornwood Dr., Suite 130, San Jose. For more information call (408) 225-2556.