Online legal service sites continued to raise concerns and prompt action at the New Jersey State Bar Association’s October board meeting, when trustees voted to seek amicus status in support of the state Supreme Court regulatory committees joint opinion that New Jersey lawyers cannot participate in certain of the services.
The opinion issued this summer from the Court’s Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, Attorney Advertising, Unauthorized Practice of Law committees found, in particular, that Avvo’s payment structure amounted to fee sharing and as such, New Jersey attorneys could not participate in those plans. The opinion, which was issued in response to an inquiry by the association about the role the companies seek to play in the legal market, raised other issues about companies such as RocketLawyer and Legal Zoom.
