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Best Online Legal Services

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When it comes to your business and personal life, it’s important to have all of your legal ducks in a row. Without help, doing so can feel incredibly overwhelming and honestly… downright scary. Based on our experiences with online legal services, Rocket Lawyer is our top pick. Not only is it affordable, but it comes with hundreds of professionally written legal templates, and you get access to real-world attorneys all for a rock-bottom monthly fee.

The Best Online Legal Service for Most

Rocket Lawyer Logo

Rocket Lawyer

Best for Most

Whether you need documentation to start a business, protect your ideas, get married, rent out your property, or protect your employees, Rocket Lawyer offers hundreds of professionally written legal templates and access to real-world attorneys that deliver the advice you need within one business day.

Legal advice, services, and documents don’t have to cost hundreds of dollars an hour. With Rocket Lawyer, you get all the legal document templates you need and access to attorneys via phone, email, and chat for only $39.99 per month. Compared to upwards of $400 an hour to work with an attorney, it’s a steal. In most cases, your questions are answered within one business day, making it a quick and affordable way to get the advice you need.

You can pay for individual services as you need them, or opt for a monthly membership with unlimited access to everything Rocket Lawyer has to offer.

The 6 Best Online Legal Service Options to Consider

  1. Rocket Lawyer – Best for most
  2. Bizee (formerly Incfile) – Best for business formation
  3. LegalZoom – Best for flat fees and versatility
  4. UpCounsel – Best for complex legal needs
  5. Avvo – Best for free legal advice
  6. LegalMatch – Best for locating an attorney near you

When It Makes Sense To Invest In Online Legal Services 

Unlike most things we talk about here on Crazy Egg, it makes sense to invest in online legal services when you need them. Unless you’re running a risky operation, at risk of lawsuits because of the products you sell, or raking in millions in revenue every year, it’s probably not something you need to have on deck all the time.

However, there are some exceptions to that. Depending on the type of business you’re running and the risk involved, it may make more sense to invest in legal services from day one.

But on-demand online legal services are more than enough for most small businesses.

Whether you need help incorporating your business, writing business contracts for freelancers and new hires, issuing eviction notices, protecting intellectual property, or something else entirely, online legal services are the most affordable way to get the professional guidance you need.

Some providers also offer membership plans if you need a lot of guidance at once to help keep costs low and accessible for everyone. That may be a smart move if you’re not yet sure what exactly you need.

If you’re worried about fitting these services into your budget, don’t worry. Online legal services are much more cost-effective than hiring a full-blown lawyer.

Some platforms are even completely free.

#1 – Rocket Lawyer — The Best Online Legal Services for Most

Rocket Lawyer Logo

Rocket Lawyer

Best for Most

Whether you need documentation to start a business, protect your ideas, get married, rent out your property, or protect your employees, Rocket Lawyer offers hundreds of professionally written legal templates and access to real-world attorneys that deliver the advice you need within one business day.

Rocket Lawyer is well-known for its seemingly infinite legal document library.

Whether you want to start a business, get married, protect an idea, rent your property, or manage employees, there’s a ready-made document for everything you can imagine.

If you can’t find the perfect template or want to add some customization, Rocket Lawyer has an intuitive document builder to help you do so. It also has a built-in reminder for specific laws in your state as you write to make sure your document stands up in court, should it ever need to. 

One of the best parts about Rocket Lawyer is that there is no legalese. You don’t have to understand complicated jargon you wouldn’t know unless you were a lawyer… to get your business off the ground. All you have to do is answer a few questions in plain English, and the software creates the legalese for you.

You can create as many revisions as you need to, plus you can sign them anywhere and print as many copies as you need at no extra cost.

If you opt for the monthly membership, you also get the benefit of Document Defense. If a dispute ends up happening with one of your documents (if someone doesn’t pay rent or you never got paid for your services, for example), you can review the case with an attorney and have that attorney respond on your behalf.

To sweeten the deal, you can also get in touch with real-world attorneys via email, phone, and chat at any time.

If you’re a monthly member, consultations and questions are always free so you never have to pay anything extra for that additional peace of mind or to get professional guidance on whatever you need.

Rocket Lawyer offers two incredibly affordable pricing options. You can become a Premium member for $39.99 per month and save on all essential legal services (cancel anytime, too!). Or you can pay for individual services as you need them.

Our advice? If you need more than one document or expect to have to ask a lot of questions, go for the membership. A standalone document will cost you $39.99 anyway. 

Start the Rocket Lawyer free trial today to see what all the fuss is about. 

#2 – Bizee (Formerly Incfile) — The Best For Forming Your Business 

Bizee Logo

Bizee

Best for Business Formation

If you’re in the beginning phases of starting a business, incorporating your LLC, nonprofit, S or C-corporation is an essential, yet difficult, first step. Bizee offers these services for free, and all you have to pay is your state's filing fee to help you get your business off the ground without paying more than you need to.

You know you want to start your own business. But what’s the best way to do that? Bizee is the service for you to quickly and confidently form an LLC, nonprofit, C-Corporation, or S-Corporation. 

What we love about Bizee is that they are one of the least expensive services out there for business formation.

Whether you’re starting a small business or looking to go big from the get-go, Bizee makes it both easy on you—it takes just three clicks to file—and your wallet.

Bizee's home page

Bizee also has an excellent resource library on their website, helping their customers start and grow a business and answering all the questions a new business owner has. These resources are available for free, which really shows that this company cares about getting people off on the right foot.

The Bizee packages are quite comprehensive, and all include the following services:

  • Company name availability check
  • Preparation and filing of documents
  • Next business day processing
  • Registered Agent Service (Free for the 1st year)
  • Free business tax consultation
  • Online access to your documents
  • Lifetime company alerts
  • Lifetime customer support

The Silver Package is free. All you need to do is pay your state’s registration fee. 

Other options include the Gold Package starting from $149 plus state fees, and the Platinum Package starting from $299 plus state fees. Paid plans include an EIN number, an operating agreement, lifetime company alerts, a banking resolution, a business banking account, tax consultations, and unlimited phone and email support.

To find the exact cost of forming your business, just select an entity type and your state, and you’ll get a quote in just a few seconds.

Form your business in minutes through Bizee today.

LegalZoom Logo

LegalZoom

Best for Flat Fees and Versatility

LegalZoom offers one-off services and long-term service packages for six to twelve months with flat monthly rates. Protect your intellectual property, write business contracts, incorporate your business, create a will, consult with a lawyer about anything you’d like, or choose from a wide range of other services.

Odds are, you’ve heard of LegalZoom. It’s a one-stop shop for business, professional, and personal legal services with dozens of offerings, including business contracts, business incorporation, intellectual property, creating a will, changing your name, and granting power of attorney.

Regardless of what you need, there are dozens of attorneys on hand ready to offer consultations, full-fledged legal services, and the software everyone needs to streamline the process.

With LegalZoom, you can take a DIY approach or enlist the help of an attorney for legitimate legal advice in just about any situation you can imagine.

Need to file business formation paperwork? No problem. Need help filling it out or have questions and aren’t sure where to turn? Maybe you need to create a custom legal document, apply for a patent, or have a legal document reviewed by an attorney.

With LegalZoom, there’s no matter too complex or too small.

As long as you live in the United States, you’ll find a wealth of information and numerous professionals ready to hop on the phone, review your documents, and help you with your legal matters (whatever those happen to look like).

It’s important to note that LegalZoom is a legal advice provider, not a law firm. So, they can’t represent you in a courtroom. They can, however, contact vetted attorneys on your behalf for a small fee, thus simplifying your search for an attorney to represent you.

However, our favorite thing about the LegalZoom platform is its flat-rate fees. There are no hourly charges and you never have to guess how much you owe.

It sure beats paying tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars and the time-consuming process of getting legal help on your own.

LegalZoom offers both one-off service pricing for standalone jobs or six and 12-month membership plans for more frequent legal assistance. 

The Legal Advantage Plus plan is ideal for personal legal requirements and starts as low as $9.99 per month. In comparison, businesses would benefit from the Business Advisory Plan, which starts as low as $31.25 per month. 

The business plans include a free 30-minute consultation for new legal matters, reviews of legal documents and contracts (up to ten pages), annual business evaluations, and exclusive discounts on other LegalZoom services if you ever need to purchase anything else.

LegalZoom also has the longest money-back guarantee in the business. If you’re not happy with the services at any time within the first 60 days, they’ll give you your money back with no questions asked.

Sign up today to try LegalZoom risk-free for 60 days to see if it’s right for you!

#4 – UpCounsel — The Best For Complex Legal Needs

UpCounsel Logo

UpCounsel

Best for Complex Legal Needs

UpCounsel is a business law marketplace designed to help with complex legal needs. It includes access to more than 5,000 pre-vetted attorneys with an average of 14 years of experience. All you need to do is post your situation, and qualified lawyers will start bidding on your project.

UpCounsel is a little different from the other online legal services on our list. Rather than a legal service provider, it’s a business law marketplace that gives you access to more than 5,000 vetted lawyers on demand.

On average, UpCounsel’s attorneys have 14 years of experience, which gives them the experience and expertise required to tackle even the most complex legal issues alongside you while delivering sound legal advice as you move forward.

Whether you’re a small startup forming your business or an international corporation, you’ll find no shortage of legitimate, experienced, and cost-effective legal counsel.

Wondering how it works?

You can simply jump online to UpCounsel, post the job relating to your legal needs, and wait for qualified lawyers to bid on your job. The UpCounsel algorithm is designed to only match you with lawyers who specialize in your area, so you should only get decent pitches. 

The highlight of this service is that UpCounsel allows you to have a free consultation with prospective lawyers before committing to their proposal. Once you’ve decided who you’re going to work with, the hiring is also done through UpCounsel, so there are no hidden fees.

It’s free to post your job on UpCounsel, but they can’t provide set rates due to the bidding system. However, they do give an indication of what you should expect to pay for your project.

At the end of the day, you get to set your rate by accepting your preferred lawyer’s bid. 

#5 – Avvo – The Best For Free Legal Advice 

Avvo Logo

Avvo

Best for Free Legal Advice

Avvo is an excellent place to start digging in to legal situations that arise. It’s an online directory of lawyers waiting to answer your questions, absolutely free of charge. Most responses come within a few hours and you can ask anonymously if you’d like. It’s a great place for general legal advice.

Let’s say you’ve gotten your business up and running on your own, but you are searching for some general legal advice without the hefty price tag. In this case, Avvo is the online legal service provider for you.

Avvo is a great starting point for almost any legal question. Think of it as an online directory of lawyers that also operates a legal question and answer forum. Simply post your legal question for free, anonymously if you wish, and get a response from real lawyers within hours. 

You may even be able to find the answer to your question without creating a post. Avvo conveniently allows you to explore questions previously asked by others. 

Some popular questions from other users come under topics such as: 

  • Bankruptcy and debt
  • Business
  • Family law such as child custody and divorce
  • Criminal defense
  • Employment
  • Immigration
  • Personal injury
  • Real estate

Do be aware that most lawyers on Avvo will only provide general information and advice for free. If you want further assistance or to receive more personalized advice, you can work with a lawyer directly through Avvo, but you will need to pay the lawyer’s contracted rate.

Other than the lawyer directory and legal forum, Avvo doesn’t offer further legal services, so if you’re looking for comprehensive online legal assistance, you may be better off with one of the other options in this guide. 

However, when business owners can get general legal advice for $0, we think that is pretty great.

#6 – LegalMatch — The Best For Locating An Attorney Near You

LegalMatch Logo

LegalMatch

Best for Locating an Attorney

If you know you need to hire an attorney but you’re not sure where to start, LegalMatch is an excellent service. It helps match users with trusted and well-rated attorneys in their area. Simply submit your issue and local attorneys will get in touch with you regarding their rates and how they can help. Most users get a response within 24 hours. The matching service is 100% free, with your only expenses being paying your selected attorney.

LegalMatch is the one for you when you know you’re going to need face-to-face support with your legal requirements but don’t know who you can trust in your area. 

This platform is similar to UpCounsel in that it is a legal marketplace of sorts, but instead of focusing on finding any lawyer, it focuses on finding a lawyer who can work with you face to face in your local area. 

All you need to do is submit your issue on the LegalMatch website and wait for lawyers to reply with their proposals and contact details. You should receive responses within 24 hours, which is excellent if you need a quick turnaround. 

Once you’ve been matched with a few lawyers, you’ll have full access to their practice details, previous experience, and reviews. Using LegalMatch is a great way to explore your local attorney options, with no pressure to commit without discussing your issues first.

All lawyers in LegalMatch’s network are pre-vetted, so you can be sure you will get high-quality proposals. They claim that over five million cases have been posted on LegalMatch, and from this, there is a 91% client satisfaction rating. 

What do we love about LegalMatch? The match-making service is entirely free, and they’ll help you find the best local lawyer for any legal issue, whether it be business or personal. 

Get started with LegalMatch and post your case today!

Methodology For Choosing The Best Online Legal Services

With more and more online legal services popping up, it is hard to determine which is the best for you and your business’s needs. 

So, how are you supposed to know which is best to get the job done?

Well, it is going to require a little research. But we will talk you through the methodology we used to choose the six best online legal services for this guide so that you can use it in your own research moving forward.

Areas of Expertise

The most obvious and important aspect to focus on when searching for the right online legal service is the area of expertise or legal category the provider works within. 

For example, if you need assistance with creating airtight corporate legal documents, you will not benefit from a legal provider specializing in family law. 

Some platforms offer a range of different services or act as a one-stop-shop, so if you think you’ll be needing a wide range of legal services over the course of building your business, there are providers like LegalZoom who can help in many areas. 

Reputation

Some online legal services may have low or average customer service ratings, which can be concerning, but your focus should be on reviews of the legal advice provided. 

Are the lawyers pre-vetted for experience and track record, or can just about anyone offer their services on this platform?

The reputation of the service provider and the attorneys should be a large contributing factor in making your decision. At the end of the day, you’re trusting them with your business and your money.

Frequency of Use 

The best online legal services will offer a range of different pricing packages with the option to sign up for an ongoing monthly membership or purchase services as standalone products when you need them. 

Some, however, only offer one or the other. 

So, when your business only requires legal assistance every so often, there is no point in committing to a pricey monthly membership and vice versa. The best thing is to explore all pricing options available and compare the membership’s inclusions compared to one-off services. 

Some providers such as Rocket Lawyer price their membership so well compared to their standalone services that you may as well join for the convenience of having ongoing access to a legal team whenever you need them.

Rocket Lawyer Logo

Rocket Lawyer

Best for Most

Whether you need documentation to start a business, protect your ideas, get married, rent out your property, or protect your employees, Rocket Lawyer offers hundreds of professionally written legal templates and access to real-world attorneys that deliver the advice you need within one business day.

Summary

Our top recommendations for the best online legal service providers to suit most of your legal needs are Rocket Lawyer and Bizee.

Realistically, your legal needs will change over time throughout the life of your business. Luckily for you, there is a wide range of helpful and affordable online legal services right at your fingertips. 

When you’re doing your research, be sure to think back to the methodology we used today to make sure that the provider you like the most is going to satisfy your current legal needs. If you’re even remotely worried that they might not, check whether they have a money-back guarantee for extra peace of mind.


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