Rocket Lawyer Reviews 2018: Pros, Cons, & Best Alternatives

What Is Rocket Lawyer?

Rocket Lawyer is a legal services website that provides access to a variety of legal help and connects customers with attorneys. The services are available to individuals and small businesses for a low fixed cost.

Rocket Lawyer is one of the fastest-growing companies in the legal services space. The company was founded in 2008, and more than 20 million businesses and consumers have used its services.

Here are some of the legal services available on Rocket Lawyer:

• Create custom legal documents and contracts
• Have documents and contracts reviewed
• Create your LLC, corporation, or nonprofit
• Phone legal advice sessions with a lawyer

Most services are available for a one-time fee on Rocket Lawyer, but you can also subscribe to a monthly membership plan if your business needs regular legal support.

Rocket Lawyer Pricing

Here are some of the services available on Rocket Lawyer and the price for both members and non-members:

Service	Rocket Lawyer Cost (with $39.95 per month membership)*	Rocket Lawyer Cost (no membership)
Create custom legal forms	Included with $39.95 per month membership	$20 per document
30-minute phone session with a lawyer	Included with $39.95 per month membership	Unavailable
Online Q&A with a lawyer	Included with $39.95 per month membership	$49.95 per question
Document defense for Rocket Lawyer documents	Included with $39.95 per month membership	$10 per document
Discount when you hire a Rocket Lawyer attorney	Up to 40% off attorney’s normal rate	Unavailable
Form an LLC, corp, or nonprofit	First business formation free (only pay govt filing fees)	$99.95 plus govt. filing fees
Registered agent service	$112 per year (25% discount)	$149.95 per year

*Rocket Lawyer offers a seven-day free trial of their membership plan.

Your cost is based on whether or not you enroll in their monthly membership. If you think you’ll need legal help just once, it’s more cost-effective to skip the membership and just pay for what you need on a one-time basis.

For $39.95 per month, there are a range of legal services that are either discounted or included in the cost of the membership. It’s a great option if you think you’ll need access to legal forms or to a business attorney’s help on a regular basis.

The membership is designed for quick legal help—online question and answers or 30-minute calls with a lawyer. But, if you have a more time consuming legal issue, the membership also gives you a deep discount on the attorney’s standard rate.

Rocket Lawyer Pros

Online Legal Advice

While many online legal services offer the opportunity to speak with a lawyer over the phone, few of them offer online Q&A. Rocket Lawyer lets you ask a legal question online and get a response from an experienced attorney. Rocket Lawyer has “on call” attorneys, and their entire job is to answer questions posted by customers. Attorneys are available in a range of different specialties, including business law, contracts, and intellectual property.

This can be a big advantage to time-strapped small business owners who just want their legal issue resolved but don’t want to spend time on the phone with a lawyer.

If you sign up for the membership plan, you can ask an unlimited number of questions for free. There’s a $49.95 per question charge for non-members.

Intuitive Form Builder

Rocket Lawyer has a very intuitive form builder for creating custom legal documents and contracts. All you have to do is answer a series of questions about your business. As you answer the questions, a series of pop-up boxes explain the law in your state. This ensures that your form complies with state law and will hold up in court.

Document Defense

Another unique feature is Document Defense. This feature works in sync with Rocket Lawyer’s form builder. If you create a custom contract on Rocket Lawyer and then another party doesn’t comply with the contracts or disputes its validity, an attorney will come to your aid. The lawyer will draft up a demand letter on your behalf, which can encourage the other party to comply.

Stellar Customer Service & Free Trial

Rocket Lawyer scores extra points with customers for their great customer service. They have phone, email, and live chat support. Reviews indicate that the reps genuinely try to help you and don’t try to upsell you on unneeded services. You can try Rocket Lawyer for free for seven days with no obligation to purchase. They also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re not happy with the service.

Rocket Lawyer Cons

Membership Costlier than Competitors

Competitors of Rocket Lawyer have less expensive membership plans. Whereas Rocket Lawyer charges $39.95 per month, LegalZoom charges $31.25 per month (for the annual plan), and LegalShield charges $39 per month. Similar services are included in all of these membership plans—access to legal forms, phone calls with an attorney, and document review.

Rocket Lawyer Customer Service

You can access Rocket Lawyer customer support via phone, live chat, and email on the contact page. Phone support is available from Monday through Friday, 6 a.m.-6 p.m. PT.

Summary of Rocket Lawyer Online Reviews

Rocket Lawyer gets very positive online reviews, a rarity in the online legal services space. Average reviews include:

• Better Business Bureau: 3.9 out of 5
• ConsumerAffairs: 4.8 out of 5
• TrustPilot: 9.7 out of 10
• Sitejabber: 4 out of 5

Positive Reviews

Customers appreciate the ease of using Rocket Lawyer’s form builder. They found the input fields to be well organized, and helpful tips—such as recommendations based on state law—were provided along the way to help them complete the form. Customers also liked that they were quickly able to get ahold of customer support on the phone, without a long wait.

Negative Reviews

One of the main things that customers complained about was that you have to provide your credit card information to access the free trial. People forget to unsubscribe and end up getting billed monthly. If you sign up for the free trial and decide you don’t want the membership, make sure you cancel your account by visiting your account profile online or by contacting customer support.

Rocket Lawyer Competitors and Alternatives

Rocket Lawyer offers a great solution for people who need affordable access to legal help. However, for certain services, it may not be the best or most cost-effective solution.

Here are some of the top alternatives:

Best Alternative to Find a Local Lawyer: Avvo

Rocket Lawyer can put you in touch with a local attorney, but a better option if you need to find legal help near you is Avvo. Avvo has the largest online directory of lawyers, which you can sort by zip code, practice area, years of experience, and rating.

With Rocket Lawyer, you have to use the attorney that they match you up with. Avvo gives you more choice and is more of a self-service option if you want to find a lawyer with a very specialized area of expertise or a specific profile. Avvo also shows client reviews and has its own attorney rating system to help you choose the most qualified legal help.   

Best Alternative for Regular Legal Help: LegalZoom

Just like Rocket Lawyer, LegalZoom offers a monthly legal plan for business owners who need regular legal support. Depending on the type of business you have and your legal needs, LegalZoom’s monthly plan may be a slightly better value. Rocket Lawyer charges $39.95 per month for its legal plan, while LegalZoom charges just $31.25 (if you sign up for the annual plan billed once a year).

Here’s a head to head look at how LegalZoom’s and Rocket Lawyer’s plans compare:

Service	LegalZoom plan ($31.25 per month)	Rocket Lawyer plan ($39.95 per month)
Unlimited legal forms	Included	Included
Phone advice from an attorney	Included	Included
Online Q&A with a lawyer	Unavailable	Included
Document review with an attorney	Included	Included
Free business formation	Unavailable	First business formation free (just pay state fees)
Access to a business tax professional	Included	Unavailable
Copyright registration	One free per month	Unavailable
Annual business evaluation	Included	Unavailable

 

There are more services included in the LegalZoom plan, but if you need business formation help or prefer online advice from an attorney, then the Rocket Lawyer plan is a better value overall.

Best Alternative for Business Formation: IncFile

If you are looking for an online legal service that will help you incorporate your business or form an LLC, then Rocket Lawyer is not the most cost-effective choice—unless you are a member. If you are a member, then your first business formation with Rocket Lawyer is free. If you’re not a member, it’s $99.95 plus state filing fees.   

IncFile is much less expensive, charging just $49.95 plus state filing fees. They also include registered agent service at no additional charge for one year. Even if you’re a Rocket Lawyer member, you’ll have to pay a fee for registered agent service.

Is Rocket Lawyer Right for Your Small Business?

Rocket Lawyer is a great option for businesses that want affordable legal support. Many legal services, such as forms and online legal advice, are available on a one-time basis. If you need more regular support, though, you can sign up for their monthly membership. All of this is backed by industry-leading customer support.

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