KateWe’ve all heard the adds for LegalZoom on the radio. They claim LegalZoom was developed by “expert attorneys.” Hmmmm…. It always made me wonder.
But read for yourself their disclaimer, which in part says:
LegalZoom is not a law firm, and the employees of LegalZoom are not acting as your attorney. LegalZoom’s legal document service is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.
LegalZoom.com, Inc. (“LegalZoom”) is a registered and bonded legal document assistant, #0104, Los Angeles County (exp. 12/09). LegalZoom cannot provide legal advice and can only provide self-help services at your specific direction.
LegalZoom is not permitted to engage in the practice of law. LegalZoom is prohibited from providing any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation to a consumer about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms or strategies.
Well, somone filed a bar complaint in North Carolina. The complaint alleges that the software that creates the legal documents constitutes the practice of law because it selects the content. 
So does this mean all forms are bad? I think not, and remember this is just a complaint, not a decision. I think that it depends upon the extent to which the forms are reviewed for changes before they are distributed to the “clients.” But, time will tell…
Of course, although you can do some documents yourself, there are so many things to consider that in most cases, you need a professional. Biased? Yes, but I also speak from experience. Legal issues are not like doing your taxes. Taxes have a defined set of rules (albeit large). Legal documents reflect the breadth of creativity in business and life, and there are so many “reasonable” rules whose application can vary by jurisdiction. One size does not fit all.
For more information, see eLawyeringBlog’s post here. For a nice discussion of the allegations of LegalZoom’s deceptive advertising practices, see For Connecticut Lawyer’s blog post here.
