LegalZoom: Closing the Justice Gap or Unauthorized Practice of Law?

Over the past several years, legal services provided through online platforms have become a popular, low cost alternative to traditional legal services. LegalZoom offers a range of legal services, through its website, at a more affordable price than traditional legal services. Affordable legal services help to remedy the current disparity in the United States between low-income individuals with legal needs and the resources available to them. Although LegalZoom’s business model provides affordable legal services, the North Carolina State Bar has tried to stop the company from operating by arguing that LegalZoom is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. This Recent Development argues that the State Bar’s actions against LegalZoom were in violation of federal antitrust laws and LegalZoom should be able to operate in North Carolina unimpeded because it works to remedy the justice gap without threatening the legal profession.