Legal Plan
This Limited Scope Representation Agreement (“Agreement”) is between LZ Legal Services, LLC (“LZLS”), an Arizona limited liability company, and you (the “Primary Member,” “Client,” “you,” or “your”) (together, the “Parties”) for the Legal Plan services described below, including Business Advantage Pro and/or Legal Advantage Plus (collectively referred to as the "Legal Plans" or “Plans” and sometimes referenced as “Advisory Services”) offered though LegalZoom.com, Inc. LegalZoom.com, Inc. is not a party to this Agreement. You agree LegalZoom.com, Inc. is not liable for service performed pursuant to this Agreement. A limited scope representation means that the amount of work the attorney performs for you is limited to certain tasks. Limited scope representation is a means to provide access to legal services while making legal help affordable. The remainder of tasks required outside the scope of this Agreement, if any, will be your sole responsibility. You may choose to hire your attorney or another attorney to perform the additional tasks for additional fees.
This Agreement is effective as of the date accepted by You.
1. Incorporation of Additional Terms
Your use of the LegalZoom.com site is subject to LegalZoom.com, Inc.’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
2. Firm Services and Use of Third Parties
LZLS uses certain service providers to complete the services under this Agreement. Any funds required for those covered services are included in your original payment and require no additional payment by you.
Firm. LZLS has the right to subcontract services under this Agreement to lawyers located in the United States. Services performed by attorneys in the United States are governed by the ethical rules in the state of the licensed attorney. The law firm (“Firm”) performing services on your order is:
McGrath & Spielberger, PLLC
Third party services. LZLS utilizes marketing, technology, and staffing services of LegalZoom.com, Inc. LZLS offers these services via the LegalZoom.com, Inc. website and may provide these services as part of a package of other offerings from LegalZoom.com, Inc. LegalZoom.com, Inc. is not a regulated provider of legal services.
3. Included Limited Legal Services
Client and LZLS agree that LZLS is not engaged to represent Client generally in any matter, but rather, that LZLS will limit the scope of representation to only provide certain specific legal services in connection with the matter for a particular purpose (“Limited Services”).
LZLS must act in your best interest and give you competent help. Because Client and LZLS have agreed that LZLS will provide limited help:
- LZLS does not have to give more help than agreed in this contract,
- Any services provided will be at LZLS’s sole and absolute discretion, and
- LZLS does not have to help Client with any other part of the matter.
While performing the Limited Services, LZLS:
- Does not promise any particular outcome.
- Relies entirely on Client’s disclosure of facts and will not make any independent investigation unless expressly agreed to in writing in this document.
- May advise you that limited representation is not reasonable, and advise you that you need more services or another lawyer.
LZLS and Client agree that the legal services provided by LZLS are identified below and are limited to the specific Limited Services identified and do not include any other services.
Legal Plan Services
The Legal Plans provide the following benefits.
a. Membership in a Legal Plan provides the following benefits (collectively, the "Plan Benefits"):
(i) Telephone consultations with Firm, during normal business hours, of up to one half (1/2) hour each and up to one hour of time researching the topic of the consultation, limited to one consultation per Plan Group for each new legal matter. If the Firm determines after the initial consultation that a letter would be of further assistance to a Plan Member, such Firm, in its sole discretion, may provide, at no additional charge one letter of up to two (2) pages on the Plan Member's behalf. Telephone consultations may not include discussion of any of the following:
1. Tax-related matters;
2. Legal Advantage Plus Plan Members may not consult about matters related to any Plan Member's business. Business coverage is provided in the Business Advantage Pro membership.
(ii) Review by the Firm of legal documents of up to ten (10) pages, limited to review of one (1) document per Plan Group for each new legal matter. The Firm shall provide one (1) telephone consultation, during normal business hours and advise Plan Member on any areas of concern and the legal implications of those provisions and their conformity to United States state and federal law.
(iii) Once during each membership year, the Primary Member shall be entitled to a legal check-up (the "Legal Check-Up"). The Legal Check-Up is intended to provide the Primary Member with an (a) assessment of his or her legal profile and recommendations based on significant issues or gaps or (b) update of a previous Legal Check-Up considering changes in life, circumstances, legal profile, and applicable law. The Legal Check-Up shall include a telephone consultation, during normal business hours, of up to one (1) hour to discuss the Primary Member's legal portfolio, potential updates over the previous year, and recommendations. The Firm shall provide a written summary of the consultation and any recommendations to the Primary Member's legal documents or strategies. The Legal Check-Up shall become available to a Primary Member only after six (6) months of membership in the Legal Plan;
(iv) If a Plan Member engages the Firm for services that are not included in the Plan Benefits described in subsections (c)(i) - (c)(iii) above, the Firm shall provide such legal services at a twenty-five (25%) discount from such Firm's standard rates for representation;
(v) Nothing in the Legal Plans or this Agreement shall be construed to limit the right of a Plan Member to retain, at his or her own expense, an unaffiliated attorney. Neither LegalZoom.com, Inc. nor LZLS shall be obligated to pay for any such services.
4. Excluded Legal Services
This Agreement specifically excludes the following services,
a. LZLS will not represent, speak for, appear for or sign papers on Client’s behalf in any litigation related matter.
b. LZLS will not represent Client in disputes with employees, contractors or third-parties of any kind, including governmental bodies.
c. LZLS will not provide litigation services of any kind, whether in court, arbitration, administrative hearings, or government agency hearings.
d. Any action that directly or indirectly involves LegalZoom.com, Inc. or any of its affiliates, directors, agents, or employees;
e. For employer-sponsored Legal Plans, any action by a Plan Member of such program that directly or indirectly involves his or her employer sponsor;
f. Any adversarial action by a Plan Member that directly or indirectly involves any other Plan Member in any Plan Group;
g. Any action based on acts or occurrences that are alleged to have occurred or conditions that were reasonably anticipated or foreseeable before the Plan Member's enrollment that did or may give rise to a lawsuit by or against such Plan Member; provided, however, that the Firm may, in its sole discretion and at its own risk, disregard this exclusion;
h. Any action that resulted in the prior recruitment or retention by the Plan Member of another attorney; provided, however, that the Firm may, in its sole discretion and at its sole risk, disregard this exclusion;
i. Any matter involving the laws of jurisdictions outside of the United States or its subdivisions;
j. Any appeal to an appellate court (i.e., not a trial court); provided, however, that the Firm may, in its sole discretion and at its sole risk, disregard this exclusion;
k. Any matter that, in the Firm's opinion, is frivolous in nature or objective; or
l. Any case matter or requested service that is determined by the Firm to lack sufficient merit to warrant pursuit, or that the Firm decides has been raised an inordinate or unreasonable number of times without a change in circumstances.
m. If the interests of the Primary Member of a Plan Group are adverse to those of another Plan Member in that same Plan Group, only the Primary Member is entitled to receive the applicable Plan Benefits.
n. LZLS will not provide any other service not included as a Limited Service under this Agreement.
5. Electronic Communication
You agree to receive communication by email. LZLS is not obligated to send correspondence by U.S. or international postal mail.
LZLS is not liable for damages caused by your failure to update and/or check your email address of record.
6. Sharing Documents
You agree that, to the extent allowable, LZLS may share your order information with LegalZoom.com, Inc., parent company of LZLS.
LZLS will never share attorney-client privileged information with LegalZoom.com, Inc.
7. Firm-Client Privilege
You agree that, to the extent allowable, LZLS may share your order information with LegalZoom.com, Inc., parent company of LZLS.
8. Professional, Independent Attorney Judgment.
Attorneys performing legal services for Legal Plan Members under the terms of this Agreement are not agents or employees of LegalZoom.com, Inc. Any attorney rendering legal services to Plan Members under a Legal Plan shall maintain the attorney-client relationship with the Plan Member, and is solely responsible to the Plan Member for all legal services provided. It is within the sole discretion of the attorney to determine whether claims or defenses pertaining to any matter under this Agreement present a frivolous or otherwise unmeritorious claim or defense. Participating attorneys reserve the right to make independent professional judgments regarding such presentations. LegalZoom will in no way influence or attempt to affect the rendering of professional services of the participating attorneys.
9. LZ Legal Services, LLC.
LZ Legal Services, LLC, is a law firm licensed by the Arizona Supreme Court as an Alternative Business Structure (License #70123). LZ Legal Services LLC is a subsidiary of LegalZoom.com, Inc.
10. Resolution of Disputes
LZLS is committed to customer satisfaction. If you have a complaint about our services, please contact us by emailing complaints@lzlegalservices.com. If we cannot resolve your issue immediately, we will send you a copy of our complaints procedure.
This resolution detailed in this policy is independent of the regulatory scheme that governs attorney conduct in the United States, and thus that may govern an individual attorney’s conduct. The conduct of individual attorneys in the US is governed by the state bar of the jurisdiction where the attorney is licensed. State bar regulatory authorities do not engage in the settlement of fee disputes.
This resolution also supersedes the dispute resolution provision in the LegalZoom.com, Inc. Terms of Use with regard to LZLS. The dispute resolution provision in the LegalZoom.com, Inc. Terms of Use continues to apply to any action with LegalZoom.com, Inc.
11. Fees & Billing
a. You agree that LZLS may utilize the services of LegalZoom.com, Inc. to collect payment for these services and remit such payment to LZLS.
b. If you have purchased this service as part of a package from LegalZoom.com, Inc. you will be billed in accordance with your agreement between you and LegalZoom.com, Inc.
c. Any fees are earned-on-receipt and will not be billed against on an hourly basis. It will not be deposited into LZLS’s client trust account, but will be deposited into LZLS’s general operating account. Even though the fees are earned-on-receipt, you may nevertheless discharge us at any time and in that event may be entitled to a refund of all or part of the fees paid based upon the value of the representation.
12. Termination
a. By Client
i. If you have purchased this service as part of a package from LegalZoom.com, Inc., cancellation of that package is subject to the agreement between you and LegalZoom.com, Inc.
ii. You may terminate your order and discharge LZLS at any time by written notice to cancellations@lzlegalservices.com, effective when received. Unless specifically agreed by LZLS and you, LZLS will provide no further services and advance no further costs on your behalf after receipt of the notice.
b. By LZLS
i. LZLS may terminate your services for any reason and at any time as permitted under the ethical rules of conduct in the state of license of your attorney. As your sole remedy, we will refund to you any fees, minus the amount of any fees for work already performed.
ii. Conflict of Interest. LZLS is required to inform you in writing if it has represented a client with an interest in your matter. If, at any point, a conflict of interest is found between you and another client represented by LZLS, LZLS may obtain written consent of both parties to proceed. If a conflict of interest is found which requires LZLS to decline representation, or if both parties do not consent, LZLS will not find alternative counsel and you will be issued a refund.
13. Right to Refuse
LZLS reserves the right to refuse service to anyone.
14. Entire Agreement
This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the Parties. No other agreement, statement, or promise made on or before the effective date of this Agreement will be binding on the Parties.
15. Governing Law
Any dispute arising from this Agreement or your use of LZLS’s services will be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of Arizona, except to the extent preempted by U.S. federal law, without regard to conflict of law rules or principles (whether of Arizona or any other jurisdiction) that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction. Any dispute between the parties that is not subject to arbitration or cannot be heard in small claims court will be resolved in the state or federal courts of Arizona and the United States, respectively, sitting in Maricopa County, Arizona.
16. Miscellaneous
LZLS is not responsible for the proper operation of the website(s). You assume all risks for technical difficulties in placing your order(s) or submitting information over the Internet. By accepting the terms of this Agreement you are warranting that you are duly authorized to enter into such an agreement.
Updated 2/1/2023