Kang Haggerty News
Three New Jersey Supreme Court committees have recently prohibited three online services that allow clients and lawyers to interact for a small fee. Certain Avvo, LegalZoom, and Rocket Lawyer products have been deemed to be in violation of ethical standards in the state and are currently blacklisted. Moreover, Avvo is under fire for its improper fee-splitting.
In the Joint Opinion issued by the Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, Committee on Attorney Advertising and Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law (ACPE Opinion 732, CAA Opinion 44, UPL Opinion 54), the committees state that “New Jersey lawyers may not participate in the Avvo legal service programs because the programs improperly require the lawyer to share a legal fee with a nonlawyer…”
On the other hand, it adds, “The Committees further find that LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer appear to operate legal service plans through their websites but New Jersey lawyers may not participate in these plans because they are not registered with the Administrative Office of the Courts…” While these two services are permissible under RPC 7.3(e)(4), they are off limits due to the lack of registration.