Monday, August 1, 2011

LegalZoom Targeted In Legal Software Ban In Missouri

Los Angeles-based LegalZoom, the online legal document provider, is the target of a class action lawsuit in Missouri, which is looking to block the ability of the firm to provide wills, leases, and other documents. The lawsuit, is set to go to trail on August 22nd in Jefferson City, Missouri, after a ruling by a federal district court judge last week. LegalZoom had been sued by a Missouri resident who used the service for a last will and testament, and two others who used the firm to organize a remodeling business. According to LegalZoom, if it loses at trial, the state would be the only in the nation which takes away a consumer's right to access online legal document software. LegalZoom characterized Missouri's 1939 statute governing the issue as outdated, saying that citizens there have the right to write their own wills or start their own businesses, without the government or courts forcing them to hire a lawyer and forbidding the use of books or software for legal help.