U.K. Solicitors Authority 'S Response Regarding LegalZoom's Hiring of U.S. Lawyers To Work For Their U.K. Based Non-Lawyer Owned Law Firm To Practice Before The USPTO.
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LegalZoom US is Delaware corporation, not authorized to practice law in any state. According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, LegalZoom US is not a law firm and, instead, provides “self-help legal documents” and connects clients to independent licensed attorneys who participate in their attorney network. See LegalZoom.com, Inc., Form S-1 (May 10, 2012). LegalZoom UK utilizes the services of LegalZoom US which “is not a regulated provider of legal services.” See, e.g., LegalZoom Legal Services Ltd. Limited Scope Representation Agreement (hereinafter “Representation Agreement”) available at https://www.legalzoom.com/legal/product-service-terms/LZLS-TN-limited-scope-representation-agreement. LegalZoom UK’s services specifically cater to US clients. Id. at 2 (“This Agreement specifically excludes the following services … [a]ny matter involving the laws of jurisdictions outside of the United States or its subdivisions.”).
LegalZoom UK is a law firm registered by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (“SRA”) of England and Wales under ID: 617803 and registered with the UK Companies house under company number 08823370. LegalZoom UK has one solicitor, James Peters, who also serves as a manager, alongside Craig Holt, Francis Monestere, Peter Henry Oey, and Sham Telang. No other solicitors appear to be registered with LegalZoom UK. It does not appear that the above attorneys working for the U.K. law firm maintain a client trust account for U.S. clients.
Practice of Trademark Law before the USPTO
“Practice before the Office in trademark matters includes, but is not limited to, consulting with or giving advice to a client in contemplation of filing a trademark application or other document with the Office.” See 37 CFR § 11.5. Only attorneys may represent others before the USPTO in trademark matters. See 37 CFR § 11.14. An attorney is “an individual who is an active member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of any State.” See 37 CFR § 11.1.
Attorneys who practice before the USPTO in trademark matters are subject to regulation by the states and should generally conform their practice to comply with both state bar rules and the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct. See, e.g, 37 CFR § 11.1 (“Nothing in this part shall be construed to preempt the authority of each State to regulate the practice of law, except to the extent necessary for the United States Patent and Trademark Office to accomplish its Federal objectives.”). Attorneys who practice before the USPTO must ensure that they comply with the various USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct, and their respective state rules.
Trademark Legal Services Performed by Attorneys of LegalZoom UK
On information and belief, US-based clients of LegalZoom US visit the LegalZoom US website, select and purchase legal services, including trademark registration and Office Action responses, and then purportedly engage LegalZoom UK to perform the legal services through in-house attorneys or third party law firms. See Representation Agreement at 1. The payment for legal services is delivered to LegalZoom US, the non-law firm entity. Id. (“LegalZoom UK 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.”). Any termination of LegalZoom UK “is subject to the agreement between you and LegalZoom.com, Inc.” Id. at 3.
It appears that LegalZoom UK employs New York-licensed attorneys to practice before the USPTO in trademark matters. See Spreadsheet of USPTO applications filed by U.K. law firm LegalZoom Legal Services Ltd. for U.S. clients (Exhibit A).
It appears that Mr. Santucci (Linkedin Santucci profile on Exhibit B), Ms. Joyner (Linkedin Joyner profile on Exhibit C), and Mr. Alexander JSW Johnson (Linkedin Joyner profile on Exhibit D) prepare the selected applications for clients of LegalZoom US, on beh
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U.K. Solicitors Authority 's response regarding LegalZoom's hiring of U.S. lawyers to work for their U.K. based non-lawyer owned law firm to practice before the USPTO.
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U.K. Solicitors Authority 'S Response Regarding LegalZoom's Hiring of U.S. Lawyers To Work For Their U.K. Based Non-Lawyer Owned Law Firm To Practice Before The USPTO.
LegalZoom US is Delaware corporation, not authorized to practice law in any state. According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, LegalZoom US is not a law firm and, inste…