Robert Ambrogi Blog
Crossing into a territory already occupied by companies such as LegalZoom and RocketLawyer, Avvo announced today the launch of Avvo Legal Forms. But Avvo’s new offering has one big difference from those other companies — all of its forms are free.
Today’s news, announced at Avvo’s annual Lawyernomics conference in Las Vegas, comes just two months after the company launched Avvo Legal Services, provided fixed-fee legal services in a number of states.
Avvo describes the forms as “a selection of no-cost, high-quality legal forms for family, businss, estate planning and real estate.”
So far, Avvo Legal Forms lists just 20 available forms. But Avvo says that it expects to have more than 200 forms available by the end of the year. The forms include a “wizard” feature to assist in filling them out, as well as e-signature capability (via HelloSign). Forms can be shared with those who need to process or sign them.
The forms feature is tied in to both Avvo Legal Services and Avvo Advisor, Avvo’s phone consultation service. Consumers who create a form through the feature can opt to either discuss it with a lawyer by phone for $39 or have it reviewed by a lawyer through Avvo Legal Services for flat rates starting at $99.
Avvo’s announcement says that offering free forms to consumers can help drive business to lawyers:
Forty-two percent (42%) of consumers who try to handle their own legal affairs end up consulting an attorney for a solution to their legal problem. Avvo gives form creators the ability to seamlessly move from drafting and receiving a form directly, to scheduling a document review with a lawyer.
In a related blog post, the company expands on this, saying, “We developed forms to bring more consumers to you.”