LegalZoom has filed a $10.5 million antitrust suit against the North Carolina State Bar, seizing upon a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision involving that state’s dental-licensing board to challenge the bar’s ability to deny LegalZoom permission to sell legal services in the state.
LegalZoom has been waging a quiet battle with North Carolina bar officials for years, as the organization that licenses and disciplines attorneys has repeatedly investigated it for the unauthorized practice of law. That is a murky concept that critics like LegalZoom and document-preparation firms say allows state bars to drive more cost-competitive firms out of the low-end, but profitable businesses of drawing up business incorporation papers, simple contracts, wills and divorces.
