It is like saying that it is a waste of money to hire an electrician to rewire your house. There is enough free information on the internet.
Is there? Sure. But your lack of experience and knowledge on the topic could still lead you to electrocuting yourself. Similarly, so could hiring a bad electrician. But the safer bet is with the man whose trade is in working with electric and wiring.
And when financial liability, your livelihood, and matters of the law are on the line, the safer bet is with the man whose trade is in the law.
What about, say, car maintenance/repair? Plenty of hackerly types work on their own cars, despite the fact that a mistake could potentially be fatal, and there are professionals who specialize in the field.
I knocked the passenger side mirror off of my car on a pole. $30 and some time later, I had a new mirror installed.
Conversely, I had a power window motor burn out and seize up while the window was going down. I was able to get the door panel off, but all the bolts to remove the motor/window assembly were on the inside of the door. I had the directions and the knowledge to continue to remove the door and remove the motor, but I did not feel capable and I didn't really have the tools to properly proceed. Failure meant a bunch of broken glass in my drive way, or worse my car would only have three doors. So I took it to a mechanic and he fixed it in an afternoon.
To reapply all of this to the topic: some legal stuff you can handle if you have the knowledge and feel equipped to move forward. Privacy policies are a good example, as would be government regulations like CAN-SPAM, which are pretty well documented and explained. But as matters of legality grow in scope: articles of incorporation, anything tax related, or something like the DMCA, I personally would not continue without legal council.
Is there? Sure. But your lack of experience and knowledge on the topic could still lead you to electrocuting yourself. Similarly, so could hiring a bad electrician. But the safer bet is with the man whose trade is in working with electric and wiring.
And when financial liability, your livelihood, and matters of the law are on the line, the safer bet is with the man whose trade is in the law.