* * *

In the aftermath of the latest Florida GOP Primary debate, U.S. Legal Forms is highlighting its selection of state-specific Living Wills and Advance Health Care Directives. Republican candidates for President discussed the case of Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman who spent years in a vegetative state while relatives fought in court over whether life support should be removed.

Intense media scrutiny accompanied the last stages of the legal battle, which riveted the nation in early 2005. Schiavo passed away in February of that year, her husband finally having won the court battle in which he had insisted she would not have wanted to maintain life support without hope of recovery.

At that time, U.S. Legal Forms published extensive information regarding living wills and health care directives on its website. An detailed overview and FAQ on the topic can be found at the site’s home for living wills (http://www.uslegalforms.com/livingwills/). The company’s state-specific forms may be purchased online.

U.S. Legal Forms CEO, attorney Frank Edens, said:

“The Republican debate’s revisiting of the Schiavo case will cause an uptick in interest in Living Wills. Our site is a great resource for people to learn more about an issue they probably haven’t thought much about, but should. No one wants their loved ones suffering through court battles in such a situation, but sometimes people discover that their personal wishes were not recorded in the required format necessary to hold up in court. People need to go the extra mile to make sure they are getting a valid form. If you have questions about Living Wills for your particular situation, you should consider consulting an attorney to draft or review your form.”

* * *

For more information contact:

Frank Edens, Esq.

CEO, U.S. Legal Forms, Inc.

(601) 896-0180 ext. 107

* * *

About U.S. Legal Forms, Inc.

U.S. Legal Forms (http://www.USLegalForms.com) is a 15+ year online legal products and information pioneer, and leading publisher of state-specific legal forms on the Internet. The company sells legal forms and related products nationwide through its flagship website to attorneys, small businesses, and the public – now listing more than 70,000 state-specific model legal forms, while maintaining an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Through a special relationship with the Florida Bar, the company offers its FormsPass subscription product to 90,000+ Florida attorneys as a Member Benefit. The independent online review site TopTenREVIEWS.com has rated U.S. Legal Forms the #1 online legal forms provider for 7 years running.

* * *

USLegal, Inc. (http://www.uslegal.com) today announced a member benefit relationship with The Florida Bar (http://www.floridabar.org/) whereby USLegal’s FormsPass Florida Legal Forms Library (http://www.formspass.com/) will be offered by The Florida Bar as a Member Benefit to Florida attorneys at a substantial discount from the regular subscription rate.

The FormsPass Florida Legal Forms Library includes all of USLegal’s Florida forms as well as all multi-state forms available on FormsPass – over 7,000 forms in total. The Florida Bar’s website will list FormsPass on the Member Benefits page, with a link to USLegal’s FormsPass landing page where new members can subscribe at the discounted rate. USLegal will provide customer service support to subscribers both online and via toll free 800 number.

FormsPass offers unlimited access to its library of legal forms for a low yearly or monthly rate, with no timed usage fees, per form fees, printing fees or other hidden charges. The library is accessible online 24 hours a day with award winning customer service support during business hours. To experience the ease-of-use and broad content of the FormsPass Florida Library, try the “Live Demo” online.

Craig Miller, Director of USLegal’s FormsPass program, said:

FormsPass is committed to providing the highest quality legal forms at the most competitive price possible, and we are proud to announce this relationship with The Florida Bar. USLegal knows the economic realities driving the legal publishing industry, and we seek to bring Bar Associations outstanding resources for their attorneys’ benefit – supporting the Bar’s mission of providing services that their attorneys value.

Mark Ragusa, Chair of The Florida Bar Member Benefits Committee, said:

The Florida Bar seeks to provide benefits to its members which improve and enhance the practice of law and the provision of legal services to the public in general. Through extensive discussions both with USLegal and internally, The Bar has determined that FormsPass will represent a tremendous value to our Florida attorneys and we are thrilled to offer this comprehensive forms library as a member benefit.

* * *

For more information contact:

Craig Miller
Director, FormsPass
USLegal, Inc.
(601) 896-0180 ext. 108

Terry L. Hill
Director, Programs Division
The Florida Bar
(850) 561-5700

* * *

About USLegal, Inc.

USLegal, Inc. (http://www.uslegal.com) is a 15+ year online legal products and information pioneer, and leading publisher of state-specific legal forms on the Internet. The company sells legal forms and related products nationwide through its flagship website USLegalForms.com (http://www.uslegalforms.com) to attorneys, small businesses, and the public – now listing more than 70,000 state-specific model legal forms, while maintaining an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. The company’s FormsPass program (http://www.formspass.com) arose from a desire to provide a library-style service to attorneys at an unbeatable volume discount.

About The Florida Bar

Established in 1907, The Florida Bar (http://www.floridabar.org/) has grown to be the third largest bar association in the United States, with over 90,000 attorney members. Responsible for the oversight and governance of the legal profession in Florida, The Florida Bar also provides many valuable services to its membership and the public.

* * *
Jackson, Mississippi – January 6, 2012

USLegal, Inc., the pioneering national provider of online legal services, announced today that its flagship legal forms web site USLegalForms.com (http://www.uslegalforms.com) has won the Gold Award for Online Legal Forms Service bestowed annually by independent consumer-help web site TopTenREVIEWS.

USLegalForms.com received the Gold Award for ranking first among eleven legal forms web sites examined and compared by TopTenREVIEWS (http://online-legal-forms-review.toptenreviews.com/). USLegalForms.com received the highest possible (“Excellent”) rating in each of six categories assessed – the only perfect score awarded in the review:

“We found US Legal to be the most complete and inclusive online legal forms service available. US Legal has the largest collection of state-specific legal forms and documents on the internet. They have everything an attorney or the average Joe could need in legal forms and non-legal letters. In addition, if they don’t have it, they’ll find it for you. Their preparation service is convenient. You can pose legal questions to lawyers and find an attorney if you decide you want to retain someone to represent you. The customer service USLegal provides is helpful, courteous and prompt.”

Since TopTenREVIEWS began awarding its yearly Gold Award for Online Legal Forms Services in 2006, USLegalForms.com has beat out its competition to win the award seven years running. TopTenREVIEWS is not affiliated with US Legal, Inc., and accepts no payments or other incentives from companies it compares and ranks.

USLegal, Inc., CEO Frank D. Edens, Esq. said:

“TopTenREVIEWS is the only web site we know of comparing legal forms sites for consumers. Our company is proud to have won the Gold Award. We were the first company to recognize the potential of online legal services, and since 1998 we believe our professionalism, value, and customer satisfaction have led the industry. It’s a position we work hard every day to keep and improve upon, and the Gold Award is a significant confirmation of our efforts.”

How does one company stay on top of a competitive emerging industry?

Edens said:

“The experience of our staff, and our commitment to customer satisfaction is second to none. When you look at what we’re faced with behind the scenes – maintaining current, accurate forms libraries for 50 different states – it is a daunting task, but over the years we’ve cultivated the processes and the people necessary to get it done. Every year the job gets bigger, and every year we rise to the occasion. Our customers have come to depend on us, and we never take that for granted.”

* * *

For more information contact:

U.S. Legal Forms, Inc.

Frank D. Edens, Esq., CEO
Phone: (601) 896-0180 ext. 107

* * *

ABOUT U.S. Legal Forms, Inc.

U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. (http://www.uslegalforms.com) is a 15+ year online legal services pioneer and leading publisher of state-specific legal forms on the Internet. The company sells legal forms and related products to attorneys, small businesses, and the public. USLegalForms.com now lists tens of thousands of state-specific model legal forms, drafted with the language and style needed to conform to the laws of each state.

U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. maintains an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

* * *

* * *

Jackson, Mississippi – October 10, 2011

U.S. Legal Forms, Inc., the leading online provider of state-specific legal forms, in cooperation with Software Depot Online, Inc., announced today the publication of Software Depot Online’s desktop application suite ‘Business Office Pro.’

Business Office Pro (http://www.businessofficepro.com) addresses the small and medium-sized business’s need for simple, accurate document drafting by placing over 3500 legal and business forms at the user’s fingertips. Users can save hours of effort by simply modifying a ready-made template. Document creation costs that would normally be paid to experts can now be retained by the company.

Attorney Frank Edens, CEO of U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. said:

“Software Depot Online identified a need among business people for quality, easily accessible and manipulable forms and documents – all in one package. U.S. Legal Forms’ background as online legal pioneers enabled us to ask the right questions, and positioned us to provide indispensable content. Software Depot Online’s ‘Business Office Pro’ is the affordable, powerful answer. We are thrilled to announce the launch of this product.”

Business Office Pro provides powerful features:

• Comprehensive knowledge not required: Users are not required to have precise knowledge to compose detailed, effective documents. Even a business novice can use Business Office Pro.
• Unprecedented selection included: Choose from hundreds of documents prepared by professionals and experts. The documents have been sorted according to document type and category.
• Document fields, auto-filled:Filling documents will no longer be a nightmare. With the auto-fill function, easily fill document fields with a single click.
• Professional Quality: Business Office Pro documents have been professionally drafted by lawyers, consultants and specialized professionals. All documents have been formatted with standard fonts and appearance to help you maintain a professional corporate image.
• Search Documents By Area: To make your work easy, documents have also been sorted under different tasks – all the required documents under one heading. For example, if one is starting a new company, then all the documents required for starting a business have been collected for easy access.
• Multiple Formats, Microsoft Office Compatibility: Edit document templates with the widely used Microsoft Office suite. Business Office Pro is compatible with Microsoft Office (2010 and 2007). If you prefer, you can use the built-in Business Office Pro Text Editor. Business Office Pro provides options to export documents in multiple formats like Word, Excel and PDF.
• Auto-recovery: With the Auto-recovery feature, you will never lose your work if your computer crashes. Business Office Pro automatically saves your documents every minute.
• Law Dictionary and Legal FAQ: A law dictionary has been integrated with Business Office Pro for users’ convenience. Users can refer to it anytime without searching the Internet. Plus, a collection of legal questions and answers is provided. This will help users answer frequently asked legal questions which would provide assistance in filling the relevant document.
• Affordable and Unlimited: Business Office Pro provides an optimized, easy-to-use and cost-effective option, saving the cost of hiring an expensive legal firm. There are no hidden quotas or heavy-use fees – make as many documents as you want for your business.
• Regular Updates: We understand that in today’s global environment, business is evolving every day. To keep pace with the latest business trends you need to have the latest documents. To this end, we are continually adding documents and features to assist our users.

Business Office Pro is downloadable from its homepage (http://www.businessofficepro.com/). All 3500 forms will be downloaded to the user’s desktop machine – once downloaded, the user does not have to constantly access an online database.

A free trial of Business Office Pro is available at the website.

For more information contact:

Software Depot Online

Raj Kondal, Sr. Vice President

Phone: 1-800-405-7125 ext 404

U.S. Legal Forms, Inc.

Frank D. Edens, Esq., CEO
Phone: (601) 896-0180 ext. 107

ABOUT SOFTWARE DEPOT ONLINE

Software Depot Online (http://www.softwaredepotonline.com/) publishes user-friendly software enabling businesses, educational institutions, and home PC users to achieve professional-quality results. Software Depot Online has developed a worldwide customer base and has won prestigious awards for its products.

ABOUT U.S. LEGAL FORMS, INC.

U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. (http://www.uslegalforms.com) is the nation’s leading publisher of state-specific legal forms on the Internet. The company sells legal forms and related products to attorneys, small businesses, and the public. USLegalForms.com now lists more than 70,000 state-specific model legal forms, drafted with the language and style needed to conform to the laws of each state. U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. maintains an A+ rating (the highest) with the Better Business Bureau.

The article examines the evolution of online legal service technology, studies the different business models employed by several participants in the field including USLegal, considers the obstacles and changing environment hampering successful operations (consistently overcome by USLegal), and discusses the industry’s future, arguing that both consumers and legal professionals will benefit by embracing expanding online legal services.

Johnson concludes that the field’s terrain is shifting to favor an “online pure-play, multi-sided, quasi-open platform” able to adapt to a wider range of consumer needs – and observes that USLegal, incorporating these three elements in its Build USLegal platform, is uniquely positioned among its competitors to successfully serve the public and the legal profession going forward.

*

The article begins with a review of the origins of the online legal service industry in the mid-to-late 1990′s, the surge of revenue growth and entry of competitors, and the consequential drop in forms prices and the explosion in variety of types of forms offered. “As a result, it became possible for low- and moderate-income households to avoid costly attorney consultations for everything from bills of sale to landlord-tenant agreements to living wills.” (p.261)

Three distinct business models were adopted by competitors in the field. The article discusses the choices of three leading companies: LegalDocs.com, We The People (“WTP”), and USLegal.

LegalDocs.com provides basic document preparation services at low costs. Alternatively, USLegal offers a comprehensive set of services to its customers with prices varying according to the complexity of the service: basic legal information is provided for free, basic forms and document assistance are provided at low costs, and more complex consultation and advising services are available at correspondingly greater costs. WTP uses a hybrid system for document preparation – it operates not only an interactive website, but also a number of brick-and-mortar retail stores. The website allows users to find the nearest retail location, schedule an appointment, and provide basic information about their legal needs in advance to facilitate the in-person visit. (p.262)

As part of its pyramid of escalating services, USLegal has diligently developed an attorney directory/referral system. The author discusses the incorporation of this feature in detail:

Perhaps the most innovative service offered by USLegal is its attorney referral system. USLegal refers its customers to full-service lawyers; however, it allows these customers to control their interactions with the lawyers in a number of ways. At the lowest level of interaction, customers have the option of simply submitting a question to USLegal’s network of lawyers for $15.95. … The notion is that simpler and less expensive legal issues can be handled without the assistance of the lawyer. The lawyer’s services will only be required for more complex and sophisticated issues. This is a distinct form of unbundling, whereby a given legal matter is broken into discrete tasks that are handled by different people at different stages: USLegal provides forms and basic information, the customer handles factual matters, and the lawyer is only employed for matters requiring particular expertise or advocacy. Simple or highly replicable tasks are handled by commoditized or highly systematized procedures; attorneys handle more complex tasks in a bespoke manner. (p.265)

In considering the obstacles encountered by the leading online legal services companies, the article documents how the hybrid business model of We The People has resulted in numerous “unauthorized practice of law” prosecutions (an issue neutralized by USLegal’s online-only model), and concludes:

It is therefore unsurprising that WTP operates fewer retail locations each year. The number of locations dropped from 175 in 2005 to 110 in 2007. By September 2009, only 49 retail locations existed. This contraction during both strong and weak economic times signals that the hybrid model is losing ground. (p.273)

In wrapping up the business model comparisons the author compares LegalDocs.com’s basic “vendor” model with the “multi-sided platform” (“MSP”) approach represented by USLegal’s Build USLegal program, concluding that “the vendor-only model is unlikely to endure” (p.275) and highlighting the benefits of MSPs:

MSPs are incredibly attractive because they benefit from indirect network effects and increasing returns to scale. Indirect network effects occur when an increase in the size of one user base makes the system more valuable to users in a different category. In the case of legal service MSPs, as more attorneys join the referral network, the platform becomes more valuable to consumers because of the greater range of legal expertise and broader geographic coverage available. Similarly, when more developers join the system, consumers benefit from the new legal service technologies they introduce. As these effects draw in more consumers, the platform becomes more attractive to attorneys and software developers who benefit from their business. The implication is that the three user bases are self-perpetuating. … Because the additional cost per user is negligible, there will be strong increasing returns to scale as the original fixed costs are distributed over a larger user base. The result of self-perpetuating user bases and increasing returns to scale is that such markets tend to “tip,” resulting in a winner-takes-all scenario. The first player to gain momentum experiences the greatest returns. (p.274)

The article concludes with a look at the impact of the current recession on the online legal services industry (more demand for affordable legal services) and observing that the impact on consumers and attorneys will increase significantly and for the better as online legal service providers continue to evolve.

———————

US Legal, Inc. offers a variety of services including legal information, legal products, legal forms, and document preparation.

The Company is multi-faceted publishing company, which has pioneered Internet ventures geared toward the public, small businesses and the legal profession since 1997 and continues its growth through increased sales and marketing partnerships and through building alliances in the legal, media, and corporate arenas.

Legal information includes Legal Definitions, Law Digest, Legal Q&A, Reporter, Law Quiz, US Legal Blog, SearchLaw and Find Attorney.

Our flagship site is US LegalForms.com, a site provide online access to legal forms since 1999.

January 20, 2009

USLegalForms.com Wins Top Ten Reviews™ 2009 Gold Award

JACKSON, MS – USLegal, Inc., announced today that it’s flagship legal forms web site, USLegalForms.com, has won the Gold Award for Online Legal Forms Service bestowed annually by independent consumer-help web site Top Ten Reviews.

USLegalForms.com received the Gold Award for ranking first among thirteen legal forms web sites examined and compared by Top Ten Reviews (http://online-legal-forms-review.toptenreviews.com/us-legal-review.html). In each of six categories assessed, USLegalForms.com received the highest possible (“Excellent”) rating. In contrast, all other competing web sites combined received only two “Excellent” ratings (side-by-side comparison: http://online-legal-forms-review.toptenreviews.com/).

“We found US Legal Forms to be the most complete and well rounded legal service available on the Internet. Their broad range of forms makes them the unsurpassed leader of the online legal service industry,” wrote Top Ten Reviews.

Since Top Ten Reviews began awarding its yearly Gold Award for Online Legal Forms Services in 2006, USLegalForms.com has beat out its competition to win the award each year. Top Ten Reviews is not affiliated with US Legal, Inc., and accepts no payments or other incentives from companies it compares and ranks.

USLegal, Inc., CEO Frank Edens said, “Top Ten Reviews is the only web site we know of comparing legal forms sites for consumers. Our company is proud to have won the Gold Award four years running. We were the first company to recognize the potential of online legal services, and since 1998 we believe our professionalism, value, and customer satisfaction have led the industry. It’s a position we work hard every day to keep and improve upon, and the Gold Award is a significant confirmation of our efforts.”

How does one company stay on top of a competitive emerging industry?

Edens said, “The experience of our staff, and our commitment to customer satisfaction is second to none. When you look at what we’re faced with behind the scenes – maintaining current, accurate forms libraries for 50 different states – it might seem like an impossible task, but over the years we’ve cultivated the processes and the people necessary to get it done. Every year the job gets bigger, and every year we rise to the occasion. Not only that, but moving forward to break new ground – for example our newly expanded Completion Services – is what keeps us ahead of the curve in our industry. Our customers have come to depend on us, and we never take that for granted.”

* * *

About USLegalForms.com (http://www.uslegalforms.com):

Formed in 1998, US LegalForms.com started out of a room in the law firm of Adams & Edens in Brandon, Mississippi. Today USLegalForms.com has grown into the nation’s most trusted source for state specific legal forms.

About US Legal, Inc. (http://www.uslegal.com):

In March 2005, US Legal, Inc., was formed as a holding company for all US Legal Companies and web sites including USLegalForms.com, Divorce.com, SearchLaw.com, RealAttorney.com, LawStore.com.

US Legal, Inc. offers a variety of services including legal products, legal forms, document preparation, and legal information including Legal Definitions, Law Digest, Legal Q&A, US Legal Reporter, US Legal Blog and Law Quiz.

The Company is multi-faceted publishing company, which has pioneered Internet ventures geared toward the public, small businesses and the legal profession and continues its growth through increased sales and marketing partnerships and through building alliances in the legal, media, and corporate arenas.

* * *