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LegalZoom's "attorney-led" trademark filing: what the attorney does and doesn't do

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In LegalZoom's attorney-led trademark package, an attorney at LZ Legal Services runs the search, advises you on the odds, picks the classes, files the application and reviews USPTO notices after filing. What the attorney doesn't promise to do is answer anything but minor procedural Office Actions, and even those are at the firm's discretion.

"Attorney-led" is LegalZoom's own phrase. It shows up in its comparison article, which calls the $899 package "our attorney-led trademark registration service," and in its refund terms. Here's what sits behind it, taken line by line from LegalZoom's pages today.

What "legalzoom attorney led trademark" means on paper

The package is Premium Trademark Registration, listed at $899 plus the USPTO fee of $350 per class. The legal work is done through LZ Legal Services, LLC, the law firm LegalZoom owns, licensed by the Arizona Supreme Court as an alternative business structure.

That's a real distinction from the "self-service tools" LegalZoom's footer says it also offers. Here, a licensed attorney is responsible for the application. The page puts it as "Let one of our experienced trademark attorneys take care of everything." The fine print sets the limits on "everything."

What the attorney does

From LegalZoom's trademark page, the attorney's work includes:

  1. A federal and common law search. Common law means real-world use of names that were never registered, which matters because those owners can have rights too.
  2. Legal advice on the odds of success. The page doesn't say whether this comes in writing, as a report, or on a call. Ask which.
  3. Class selection. "Trademark classes selected by your attorney."
  4. Filing. "Attorney filing of your trademark application with the USPTO."
  5. Post-filing review. "Attorney review of post-filing alerts if USPTO needs more info."
  6. A second search if there's an issue with your first choice.
  7. Minor procedural Office Action responses, with a big qualifier covered below.

That's the core of a trademark filing. It's fair to say the package covers the steps most applications need.

What the attorney doesn't do

This is where you should slow down.

Substantive Office Actions aren't included. LegalZoom's footnote says LZ Legal Services "may choose, at its sole discretion, to respond to certain minor procedural office actions," and defines those as things like a disclaimer requirement or amending a mark description. A likelihood of confusion refusal, a descriptiveness refusal or a surname refusal is something else. LegalZoom's comparison article says you "may still have to pay additional fees if your trademark has a complex office action." Its pricing page lists those responses from $199 to $799, plus $99 for each additional cited mark.

Even minor responses aren't promised. "Sole discretion" means the firm decides. I'm not saying it refuses often. I don't know, and LegalZoom doesn't publish that. I'm saying the contract language leaves the choice with the firm, not with you.

No named attorney before you pay. Neither the trademark page nor the comparison article names who'll work on your file. The USPTO's advice is to ask for the attorney's bar number and check it with the state bar, so ask once you're assigned.

Monitoring isn't the attorney's job after month three. Three months of monitoring are included, then it "auto-renews at $249/year." Monitoring sends alerts. Acting on an alert, such as sending a letter to a copycat, isn't part of the package, though a cease and desist letter template is.

Statements of Use can be separate work. If you file before you're selling, you'll need to prove use later. One public LZ Legal Services engagement page for that step quotes its own service fee, and it excludes Office Action responses unless the firm elects to include them.

Is "attorney-led" the same as having your own attorney?

Not quite, and the difference is practical, not a knock on anyone's license.

An attorney-led package is a defined product: these steps, at this price, with these exclusions. Having your own attorney means one person is responsible for the mark from the first search to registration, and the scope is written in an engagement letter you can read. Both can be done well. They're just built differently.

The refund terms show the product shape. LegalZoom's guarantee page gives "attorney-led" trademark registration a 30-day refund window, with "cancellation fees" based on the value of services provided, and refunds end once an attorney consultation is completed.

Questions to ask before you pay

  • Will my search results come with a written opinion, or a call?
  • Will the same attorney handle my file from search to registration?
  • If I get an Office Action, who decides whether it's "minor," and what happens if it isn't?
  • What will a likelihood of confusion response cost me if one arrives?
  • What's the attorney's name and bar number?

Ask any firm the same list, including mine. The article on what a search should include covers the first question in more depth.

How a one-attorney flat fee is different

I'm one attorney, and I do every search, opinion, filing and call myself. One mark is $2,600 flat, or three payments of $950, plus the same USPTO fee of $350 per class. That covers the search, my written opinion, the federal application and every procedural Office Action. Procedural responses aren't discretionary: if the examiner asks, I answer. Substantive refusals are quoted before any work starts.

If my written opinion rates your mark low risk and the USPTO refuses it, I file a new application at no attorney fee, and you pay only the USPTO fee. Every application we've filed has been approved so far, with zero refusals. More on how responses work is in the article on Office Action responses.

That's more than $899, and for some names LegalZoom's package is enough. The point of knowing what "attorney-led" covers is so you're choosing with the fine print in view.

To see our packages and what each covers, start here.

Questions about your name? Email us at hello@citrus.legal, or book a paid 30-minute consultation (opens in a new tab) for advice on your specific situation.

Sources

This article is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

When you are ready to own it

One mark. One flat fee. One attorney.

The search, the written opinion, the federal application and procedural Office Actions, for $2,600 or three payments of $950. Nothing is filed until you approve the search. If I call your mark low risk and the USPTO refuses it, I file again at no attorney fee.

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