What are Online Legal Services?
The emergence of online legal services has transformed the way individuals and businesses access legal solutions. The efficiency, convenience, and affordability offered by these services have become crucial in a world that values speed and cost-effectiveness. For those who need legal forms, document reviews, or incorporation amidst busy schedules and tight budgets, online legal platforms offer an optimal alternative to traditional lawyers—without sacrificing quality . LegalZoom, founded in 2001, positioned itself as the first truly comprehensive online legal service. It has since served more than 3 million customers. Rocket Lawyer, another leading player in the field, came into existence in 2008. With an emphasis on innovation and a comprehensive suite of services, it has earned a solid reputation while also claiming to be the biggest online legal service on the web.
Comparing Services: LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer
LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer are both leading online legal service providers, but they offer a slightly different mix of services. LegalZoom has more of a traditional "lawyer factory" model—providing templates, documents, and lawyer advice by telephone—while Rocket Lawyer largely plays in tech, offering legal help and documents entirely online. Both are good options for people with a range of legal needs.
LegalZoom has been around for more than 15 years. The biggest fish internet lawyer, Robert Shapiro, partnered with LegalZoom to do wills and trusts. LegalZoom will review your documents for legal accuracy, and it separates its offerings into two categories: business and personal. For its personal services, Rocket Lawyer claims to have contracts that cover 99% of all legal issues. They will generate a contract for you and help you send it to the intended recipient for signature, all online. Although not required, your document can then be stored and accessed through Rocket Lawyer on your mobile device. They’ll also answer certain legal questions online, and can recommend a lawyer in your area to help if necessary.
Rocket Lawyer offers a monthly membership or pay-per-use services, which sits in line with their goal of being less expensive than hiring a lawyer for certain tasks. Different from LegalZoom, the Rocket Lawyer site helps you start the process of creating a contract or other document first, such as a will, without asking you to pay or sign-up then and there.
Pricing Plans and Subscriptions
LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer each have different pricing structures that can impact the value of their services for clients. LegalZoom’s base model is a one-time subscription service, whereby clients pay for documents or services as needed. The cost for specific documents varies by category, but generally falls in the $49 to $69 range for basic will and living trust packages. The price goes up considerably for statutory wills or transfers in each state (the highest being the District of Columbia at $949), but broadly speaking, the cost of documents is between $49 to $249 depending on complexity.
On the other hand, Rocket Lawyer presents a different front. Its pricing structure uses both subscriptions and a single fee for documents. Rocket Lawyer’s monthly subscription fee for its legal documents is $39.95, the case-based legal services are included for "peace of mind" at that fee as are consultations with network attorneys during the subscription term. Legal services through lawyers are billed on a case-by-case basis. For estate planning issues, covering simple wills and trusts, it is $399 per document. This price jumps to $569 for estate planning solutions; $699 to $1,257 for advanced issues and $1,599 for a "comprehensive estate plan."
Rocket Lawyer also offers a 7-day free trial to test its services, but not all documents or lawyers may be available to free trial subscribers. Similarly, documents and other legal services have a 30-day money-back guarantee. LegalZoon does not offer a free trial, but if you are not completely satisfied with an order and have not yet completed any agreement referenced in your order, you may contact customer support to receive a full refund.
Concierge subscription pricing for LegalZoom clients depends on the level of service. A Basic level client pays $165 per year; the Standard level client pays $249 per year and Premium level subscribers pay $312 per year. This subscription covers one consultation with a network lawyer per month for issues not covered by a fixed fee in their document preparation/input services. Among the fixed fee services, a flat fee of $2,500 covers any legal issue represented through an on-site local attorney, arbitration or mediation sought through their facilitated negotiation tool.
LegalZoom clients can cancel their subscription at any time.
LegalZoom plans are paid as monthly memberships and automatically renew unless canceled. Rocket Lawyer also has annual subscription plans.
User Experience and Platform Functionality
The user experience and platform usability differ between LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer. These differences are illustrated by the customer reviews of both platforms.
LegalZoom uses its own unique interface, but Rocket Lawyer uses a more traditional menu-based menu design. The two legal service providers also differ in terms of their main functionalities. LegalZoom’s most prominent feature is its document generation process. The company has an "Advanced Features" section that contains tabs for "LLCs," "Wills & Trusts," Readymade Legal," and "Reference Room." This feature gives the impression that LegalZoom wants to educate users on what they do. This is a huge draw for those who want to learn more about legal issues. On Rocket Lawyer’s platform, the most important functions are at the bottom of the page and are "Incorporate Your Business," "Create Legal Documents," "Find Legal Help," "Ask a Lawyer," and "Other Services." Their interface is easy to navigate, but also lacks much functionality with the "Other Services" tab being underdeveloped. Rocket Lawyer’s "Ask a Lawyer" feature deserves a closer look. When users pay the site a monthly fee of $39.99, they receive access to quick legal answers from lawyers. There is a standard form users must follow to submit legal questions, but it is also very easy to use. The lawyers who respond usually reply within 2 business days. Although both companies easily pass our test for ease of use, there are other factors users should consider when selecting them. Both companies receive good to excellent customer reviews. LegalZoom is praised for its great customer service and has an overall consumer review rating of 9.7 out of 10 with over 312,000 reviews. Rocket Lawyer’s customer reviews are also overwhelmingly positive. The site has an overall consumer review rating of 9.5 out of 10 with over 32,000 reviews.
Pros and Cons
When evaluating the best online legal service, look at the advantages and disadvantages of each. LegalZoom has better customer support and a larger variety of services. Their interface is also easier to use. However, it can be more expensive and can be slow to process requests and issue final documents than Rocket Lawyer and other services . Rocket Lawyer provides a large variety of legal services at a reasonable price with packages. Their menu is much larger than that of LegalZoom. While the online documents are easy to draft yourself, the online live chat and lawyer directory are also useful for seniors, small business owners, and families.
Best Use Cases for Each Service
Each service is best suited for different types of needs, and both are definitely not suitable for all legal issues. Which does not mean that these services are bad (as long as you know the limitations and use them within the scope of those limitations); but rather that there are better solutions for certain existing needs. I will touch on some examples for each.
By far, the best time for using LegalZoom is in creating simple, basic estate planning documents. These include Wills, Power of Attorney documents, and Health Care Directives (also known as Advance Medical Directives). They are good for basic LLC formation, but anything more complicated should be handled by a legal professional because LLC’s in the wrong hands can create a huge liability for you. I have also seen some sole proprietors use LegalZoom to set up appropriate protections for their business.
LegalZoom is most appropriate where the legal matter is largely a simple "form matter", and you have no need for any significant input from an attorney.
If your need is a form document, then LegalZoom is a much better solution than Rocket Lawyer. But if you need electronic storage of documents, unlimited forms through your subscription, and a more comprehensive suite of online products, make sure you evaluate whether Rocket Lawyer fits your need better.
There are times when Rocket Lawyer is a better fit than LegalZoom. While I prefer LegalZoom for estate planning, Rocket Lawyer has been described as offering more robust planning options, particularly for larger estates. Also, if you haven’t gained much from the legalhealthcare.com website yet but want more information before making a decision, you have the right to try out Rocket Lawyer for free for one week. You can also get a 30 day free trial when you sign up.
While I think most people would find LegalZoom is a better fit for business formation, the reality is that Rocket Lawyer is not that much worse. If you can get a better price now (which varies), then it may be the service that is a better fit for you. You should also check out UpCounzel and LegalShield to see if those services fit you better.
If you need a one-time document or other legal service, try LegalZoom first. It is user-friendly and very easy to navigate. If you need an ongoing subscription, then Rocket Lawyer is the right choice.
Final Advice and Suggestions
In conclusion, the key differentiators between LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer are the type of documents that can be drafted online, the level of attorney support available for specific situations, and the cost-effectiveness of each service depending on your needs. Per my definition of document automation in my previous post (What is Document Automation? And Why Should You Use It?), these two services meet that definition. Rather than pulling from pre-existing templates as many other prep and filing services do, they are actually generating new contracts or documents from your unique answers to a series of yes/no and multi-choice questions , and provide the flexibility of creating documents for various states/locations.
When seeking specific types of documents, whether they are business contracts or estate planning documents, examine the extensive requests in LogicManager or LegalNow to see which system will allow you to create the most appropriate document for your needs. If attorney support from a real live person sitting next to you at a desk is important, then check the coverage area of each and whether there is an added fee to speak with an attorney (it certainly can be worth a trip to the office). Finally, knowing that there will be added costs if your legal needs are more complex or time-sensitive can help in budgeting accordingly around preferred service providers.