Booming
Internet biz
threatens
small firms
STORY BY JOHN SCHOFIELD
He’s best known as a lawyer to
the stars — the legal genius
who successfully defended O.J.
Simpson and represented
celebrities like Johnny Carson
and the Kardashians.
But about 10 years ago,
Robert Shapiro saw a vision of
the legal industry’s future and
signed on as a co-founder of
Los Angeles-based LegalZoom.
com Inc., an online provider of
legal documents. In July, the
company announced it had
raised US$66 million from
venture capital firms. A month
later, Google Ventures and
another firm pumped US$18.5
million into LegalZoom’s biggest competitor, San Fran-cisco-based Rocket Lawyer Inc.
The revolution is only getting started, says Jordan Furlong, a frequent speaker on
the shifting legal landscape
and a columnist for The Lawyers Weekly. “We’ll see more
of it,” he predicts. “I absolutely think this is a growth
industry for the future of the
legal marketplace.”
See Internet Page 28
KODYM / DREAMS TIME. COM
