Here is Legalzoom's disclaimer. You can get to it by scrolling down to the bottom of the main page at legalzoom.com and clicking on full disclaimer. The question that keeps coming up in my mind is, "How can legalzoom provide legal documents without any liability?" They do it through this lame disclaimer. They know that they are not crossing their t's and dotting their i's. They know that they are countless issues wide open to liability or else they would not have this disclaimer. Attorneys can't disclaim liability. They are on the hook, and rightfully so. They are giving advice and standing behind it. They are providing documents that are well thought out and customized to a particular client's situation.
Why anyone would go with legalzoom with a bunch of ?????????? hanging over their heads? If you don't beleive there are ??????????, then take the time to read this disclaimer.
Disclaimer
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.
This site is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship, and by using LegalZoom, no attorney-client relationship will be created with LegalZoom. Instead, you are representing yourself in any legal matter you undertake through LegalZoom's legal document service.
LegalZoom provides an online legal portal to give visitors a general understanding of the law, as well as to provide an automated software solution to individuals who choose to prepare their own legal documents. To that extent, the site publishes general information on legal issues commonly encountered.
LegalZoom's document service also includes a review of your answers for completeness, spelling and grammar, as well as internal consistency of names, addresses and the like. At no time do we review your answers for legal sufficiency, draw legal conclusions, provide legal advice or apply the law to the facts of your particular situation. LegalZoom and its services are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.
Although LegalZoom takes every reasonable effort to ensure that the information on our website and documents are up-to-date and legally sufficient, the legal information on this site is not legal advice and is not guaranteed to be correct, complete or up-to-date. Because the law changes rapidly, is different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and is also subject to varying interpretations by different courts and certain government and administrative bodies, LegalZoom cannot guarantee that all the information on the site is completely current. The law is a personal matter, and no general information or legal tool like the kind LegalZoom provides can fit every circumstance.
Therefore, if you need legal advice for your specific problem, or if your specific problem is too complex to be addressed by our tools, you should consult a licensed attorney in your area. Visitors to our site may obtain information regarding free or low cost representation through your state bar association or local legal aid office.
This site and some of the articles on this site contain links to other resources and businesses on the Internet. Those links are provided as citations and aids to help you identify and locate other Internet resources that may be of interest, and are not intended to state or imply that LegalZoom sponsors, is affiliated or associated with, guarantees, or is legally authorized to use any trade name, registered trademark, logo, legal or official seal, or copyrighted symbol that may be reflected in the links.
LegalZoom is not responsible for any loss, injury, claim, liability, or damage related to your use of this site or any site linked to this site, whether from errors or omissions in the content of our site or any other linked sites, from the site being down or from any other use of the site. In short, your use of the site is at your own risk.
7 comments:
I guess it's like anything some people have bad experiences with companies some don't. LegalZoom prepared and filed my LLC with no problems. I am a happy customer...
LZ is awesome. You have no life for creating this useless blog. Delete it.
Legal zoom automatically opts you into a service when you order a comprehensive will service and starts billing $13.00 / month to your credit card. This aspect is definitely a scam.
As an attorney, I love Legal Zoom. LZ almost guarantees I will have plenty of work fixing the messes created by the tightwad idiots who use the service.
Robert Shappiro helped create the concept. If that alone does not make you want to RUN, I don't know what will.
When my father entered the practice of law, over 38 years ago, there was an older gentleman in our town who drew up wills, deeds, and contracts for the local tightwads. Dad asked one of the old lawyers in town why they had not reported the old hack to the Bar. The old attorney smiled and said, " that man is great for business, I've made more money correcting his errors than I would have had he been put in jail for unlawful practice of law.
I agree - Robert Shapiro is no idiot. As attorneys his creation is a god send. Wills for $29.00? Nobody tells these people that such an instrument guarantees the estate will go into probate. Probate costs the family of the dead tightwad 2% of the value of the estate. Thank you LZ. "A man who is his own attorney has a fool for a client.".
Tocall out Legal Zoom with their ABSOLUTE NECESSITY to protect themselves is NAIVE AT BEST to believe they would not.
Legal Zoom would not say this, their ability to provide legal advice *PRIOR TO* providing Legal Advice is enough to get them out of it.
EX-The whole "Give me a Dollar so I'm legally your representative".
Thus, at no time do you obtain "Legal Advice", they're only giving you a product that is what is called "Good Enough".
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LegalZoom: The "Good Enough" Legal Solution
http://www.elawyeringredux.com/2012/05/articles/legalzoom/legalzoom-the-good-enough-legal-solution/
….the proposition that consumers and small business prefer a very limited legal solution that is just good enough to get the job done, rather than pay the high legal fees charged by the typical attorney.
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That means is, if and or when you get sued, you have "Legal Documentation" to back up your claims.
Under the "Good Enough" principle, you can stand on ground that you tried your best to try, try to squash that argument
*HERE IS THE BEST EXAMPLE* I'm sure you've experienced. Everyone has.
Have you ever wondered why NOT A SINGLE SOUL has ever Sued Microsoft for "The Blue Screen of Death" (and losing Important Data in the process?).
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO SUE MICROSOFT FOR THAT. That whole "Disclaimer Legalese that no one reads, says this"
When you purchase their OS, you are purchasing a *LICENSE* to use the product, you are not purchasing *THE PRODUCT* (they they cannot be held for any malfunction of the product and/or you have no "standing"--as all you have is the *RIGHT OF* use their Product *WITHOUT GUARANTEE IT WILL WORK*
I have not read the fine print of LegalZoom, but I bet its similar.
A "RIGHT TO" their Legal Documents, they make no claims it's up to date.
Most of the time when people sue a Lawyer because a Lawyer messed up the information.
One Tactic is: Ineffective assistance of counsel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ineffective_assistance_of_counsel
HOWEVER AGAIN, LegalZoom is *NOT* your Counsel, they simply provide you a form. Essentially they are no different if you trolled the web for a "Template Document" and found it work you.
*AND* Ineffective Legal Counsel is near impossible to prove *UP TO AND INCLUDING*, I saw a case on T.V. for a Death Row Case. *EVEN THE LAWYER MANNED UP* AND SAID, YES, I PROVIDED AN Ineffective assistance of counsel.
THAT IS UNHEARD OF (CAN GET DISBARRED FOR THAT). BUT, he felt he owed the obligation to the Defendant that was sentenced to death.
His ADMITTANCE was that he had too many other things going (think even a close death in the family, too much going on in life/work/etc. UP TO AND INCLUDING ASKED THE JUDGE DURING THE CASE TO BE REMOVED AS HE WAS NOT IN A FRAM OF MIND TO EFFECTIVELY HEP (JUDGE SAID NO). .
That a case requiring Effective Legal Counsel for a Death Penalty, he was in over is head.
Course Lady lost her case, sent to Death Row.
THE JUDGE STILL REFUSED TO VACATE/START OVER THE CASE
Even though he admitted as such. (Ineffective).
However *NEVER*/*EVER*/*NEVER* should you use LegalZoom be used to replace proper Legal Counsel. They are nothing more than a "Turbo Charged" Template provider,
Again, all it provides is "Good Enough" claims were you to get sued.
Thus in a nutshell ,your entire claim is a fallacy/fallacious as LegalZoom *IS NOT* your lawyer.
Said in short form. Legal Zoom should *ONLY* be used (Example starting a business with a Partner), to get things going, *THEN* when it's affordable, simply dissolve the Entity that owns the business (usually most do an LLC) and start over again with *REAL* Legal Advice.
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