Company emphasizes value of lawyers with document review
Seattle, Wash — Need legal forms and a lawyer to review them? Avvo has added a selection of no-cost, high-quality legal forms for family, business, estate planning and real estate to its website. Consumers are searching for legal forms online every day, spending nearly $5 billion downloading them in 2015. The company hopes that making forms freely available in the same place a consumer can hire an attorney will simplify the process.
Here are the highlights:
- Avvo expects to have more than 200 available by the end of 2016.
- The forms include a “wizard” feature along with e-signature capability, and can be easily shared with those who need to process or sign them.
- Forms can also be reviewed by a local attorney of the consumer’s choice through Avvo Legal Services, starting at $99.
“We believe people should pay for value, and value comes from the attorneys in our network,” said Sachin Bhatia, chief product officer at Avvo. “So, instead of shelling out $79 or more for a document elsewhere, we’d rather give them the form and have them use that money to hire the attorney of their choice.”
Free legal forms also benefit 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.
“It’s a priority of ours to make sure consumers aren’t just getting the tools they need,” said Bhatia, “but actual advice and guidance from a lawyer. We want to take as much pain out of the legal equation as possible.”
