LEGAL ZOOM COST PROFESSIONAL

However, nothing in the arrangement appears to prevent a lawyer from consulting with the client (indeed consultations are part of the model) and advising the client whether the services the client selected are sufficient to the client’s needs. According to the Commission the abdication occurs because the client’s legal needs are “locked in” without prior consultation, and the lawyer must have a prior consultation with the client to determine the client’s needs.

LEGAL ZOOM COST PROFESSIONAL

The Commission’s reasoning for its conclusion that the arrangement risks an abdication of the lawyer’s professional independence is more extensive, but less convincing. While the Commission’s reasoning is less than clear, it appears that the fact the marketing fee is not payable unless the lawyer earns a fee is the key to seeing the fee as simply part of the overall fee that the consumer pays. First, the Commission concludes, the marketing fee can be viewed as violating the rule that a lawyer may not split legal fees with a non-lawyer, a practice prohibited by Indiana Rule of Professional Conduct 5.4(a). In addition, the lawyer pays a “marketing fee” to the company for each matter the lawyer receives.Īccording to the Commission, such an arrangement raises a host of issues under the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct. The client selects a lawyer from the company’s online database, sets up an appointment and receives the service. Say $500 for estate planning advice and preparation of a simple will. The company establishes the fee for the service, which is typically a flat fee charged to the consumer. The lawyers are not, however, employees of the online entities, but “independent” lawyers. Not content to remain in the realm of automated preparation of legal documents, online companies such as Legal Zoom and Avvo have begun offering consultation with actual lawyers. It’s fair to say that the opinion puts the kibosh on the current business “lawyer consultation” models for online giants Legal Zoom and Avvo for a whole host of reasons. In April, the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission issued its first ever advisory opinion, and it was a doozy.

Legal zoom cost