LegalZoom：律师事务所的“互联网模式”

最近美国又有一个网站即将 IPO，得到路透社、福布斯、商业周刊等传统媒体的关注。
这个网站叫LegalZoom，它于 1999 年由 Brian Liu、Brian Lee 以及 Eddie Hartman 创立，一直为中小企业以及个人提供法律文书服务。去年，公司已经拥有 200 万名客户。过去三年以来，公司的营收一直在稳步增长，从 2009 年的 1.03 亿美元到 2010 年的 1.21 亿美元到 2011 年的 1.56 亿美元。根据 S-1 文件，公司计划融资 1.2 亿美元。
1.2 亿美元？对比 Facebook 计划融资的 50 亿美元来说，简直是小巫见大巫。但《国家商报》(NationBiz)认为，LegalZoom仍然是一家值得报道的网站，因为从某种程度上，它取代了律师的工作。
这要解释一下 LegalZoom 的业务模式——如前文所述，它为中小企业和个人提供法律文档服务，然而相比直接去律师事务所委托律师而言，LegalZoom 提供了更加简单而廉价的方案，来帮助客户解决他们的问题。
用户可以直接登陆 LegalZoom 网站，通过一步一步回答问题的方式将自己的需求描述清楚，然后得到自己所需要的法律文书。比如一个用户如果要注册商标，那么它可以登陆网站，直接选择注册商标这个服务，然后一个接一个地回答问题，最后得到一份合乎规范商标申请文件。
对比传统的律师事务所，LegalZoom 的优势在于：
价格低廉。一般而言，同样的服务 LegalZoom 的收费要比一名律师的收费便宜 85%；
快。用户从登陆 LegalZoom，到生成自己所需要的法律文书，整个过程也许不必超过 5 分钟；
收费标准明晰。若网站某个服务需要另外收费，那么它会直接在页面上显示价格，告知用户。
当然，LegalZoom 无法完全取代律师的角色，它的业务范围主要集中在非诉讼业务上，比如申请商标、创建公司、书写遗嘱以及订立租赁合同等等。虽然对于律师事务所而言，非诉讼类业务比较低端、重复，但也是一个重要而稳定的收入来源。但像 LegalZoom 这样的网站出现，提供了价格更低廉，而且服务质量满足用户需求的法律文书服务，无形中，律师事务所面临了新的竞争对手。
不仅如此，LegalZoom 的业务范围还从非诉讼业务向诉讼业务拓展，去年它已经跟 16 家法律公司、 70 名专业律师签约，为用户提供法律咨询服务。已经有人开始发出警告，“恐惧吧，律师们！”
“用互联网模式改造任何一个传统行业，都有巨大的机会。”

LegalZoom Files For IPO Of Up To $120 Million
Online legal services company LegalZoom filed for an initial public offering on Friday with the SEC that could raise up to $120 million.
LegalZoom generated revenue of $156.1 million in 2011, which was up 29.2% from $120.8 million in 2010, according to its S-1 filing. The Glendale, Calif. company posted a net income of $12.1 million in 2011, up from a net loss of $4.0 million in 2010.
Founded in 1999, LegalZoom provides legal services to small businesses and consumers, including interactive legal documents that customers can tailor to their specific geography. The company also offers legal advice via subscription legal plans with attorneys, as well as subscription registered agent services. The company had 228,000 subscribers as of the end of 2011, up from 116,000 in the year-ago period.
Move up Move down
The company’s investors include Polaris Venture Partners with a 35.1% stake, Institutional Venture Partners with a 14.7% stake, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers with a 6.4% stake and cofounder, chairman and former CEO Brian Liu with 8.6%. The LegalZoom IPO is a big win for Polaris, which has the largest stake in the company. Polaris last year closed a $375 million fund, which was much smaller than its previous $1 billion 2006 fund.
Perhaps to be expected: since 2009 there have been seven lawsuits filed against LegalZoom in California, Missouri, Alabama, Ohio, Alabama, Arkansas and South Carolina for various claims. Competitors in online legal documents include BizFilings, RocketLawyer, and The Company Corporation.
LegalZoom plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “LGZ.”Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are underwriters.