LegalZoom

LegalZoom: online legal services for businesses and individuals

LegalZoom is a legal services platform that combines guided digital tools with the involvement of independent attorneys. Its offering is structured around two main areas —business and personal— and spans from business formation to estate planning. The company presents itself as a provider of access to independent attorneys and self-service tools, and clarifies that it is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, except through its subsidiary LZ Legal Services, LLC.

Business services

The business catalog includes the creation of business structures such as the limited liability company (LLC), corporations (C corp and S corp), the doing business as (DBA) designation, nonprofits, and sole proprietorships. It also covers ongoing maintenance and compliance: business compliance coverage, annual report filing, business licenses, EIN acquisition, operating agreements, registered agent, virtual mail service (LZ Virtual Mail), and business dissolution. In the area of brand protection, it offers trademark registration, comprehensive trademark search, free trademark search, trademark monitoring, provisional patent, and copyright.

Personal services

For individuals, LegalZoom structures its offering around estate plans (will and trust), family matters (power of attorney, healthcare directive, prenuptial agreement, and divorce), and real estate (residential lease and property deed transfer). It also offers virtual mail services and attorney plans for both businesses and individuals, as well as legal forms services with templates, Doc Assist AI, and eSignature.

Guided tools and attorney guidance

The platform combines two ways of working. On one hand, guided tools allow users to complete services by answering questions online, with attorney-backed technology and a personalized dashboard available 24/7. On the other, attorney guidance connects the user with a network of vetted professionals, with an average of 17 years of experience practicing law and upfront flat fee pricing. The company states that it is possible to connect with a business or personal services specialist in under two minutes.

How the process works

The workflow described by the company consists of three steps: the user selects the legal service they need and submits the information through questionnaires that, in most cases, can be completed in minutes; LegalZoom processes the request and handles the necessary steps, including interaction with government agencies when applicable; and the user can track progress through a personalized dashboard that centralizes updates and documents.

Resources and guides

The site provides users with a set of informational resources: guides on how to start an LLC in seven steps, how to add a DBA to an LLC, how to form a corporation, differences between LLC and S Corporation, how to start a nonprofit, what is a registered agent, how to file an annual report, trademarks vs copyrights, how to set up a trust, and how to create a will. It also includes state LLC guides for states such as Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Among the available tools are business name availability search, business name generator, Compliance Health Check, free trademark search, grant search, legal templates, Doc Assist AI, and estate plan check.

Track record and guarantees

LegalZoom states it was founded in 2001 and has more than 25 years of activity transforming the way people navigate the legal system. The company declares it has supported more than 9 million legal milestones and presents itself as the number one online legal service for businesses and individuals. It offers a 100% accurate filing guarantee: if a filing is rejected or incorrect due to the company's error, it corrects it with the government agency at no additional cost. The site shows customer testimonials with more than 5,400 reviews.