not as much as lawyers and accountants imo. they're a necessary relationship but its toxic. the systems in place for software are mostly open whereas the same cannot be said for a lot of legal and financial systems. they're not beginner friendly, and have a big barrier to entry from my experience.
It’s kind of like medicine. There can be high stakes and you want someone who has “done it” before. Someone who knows the statutory law, the case law, the precedents, who keeps up on that area of expertise.
It was tempting to buy a piece of software that could draw up the papers I needed to create my family trust, but if I really need that in 10 years and something is outdated or the laws have changed, then I’m just passing down a problem of unknown potential to my next of kin.
I had recent need of an estate attorney when my mom passed unexpectedly, and the time, hassle, and general insanity the attorney saved my family and I was well worth the expense of a few grand coming out of the estate. He was very conservative in his billings and gave us four trips, in person, to government agencies on the house.
I'm talking future state. What you're calling out is great, but that's in current scenario. From my experience with lawyers (immigration) - absolute nightmare and again I totally understand why things are this way but just let me vent as a nerd who codes. Seriously, it drives me nuts that I have to put my trust into these guys that sometimes they completely get wrong. If a doctor messes up, I'm dead or close to it that it doesn't even matter anymore. If a lawyer fucks up or I have to proof read my accountant's work because he makes so many mistakes, its GG START OVER.