John Suh sees LegalZoom’s job as fixing a ‘failed’ legal system

“We didn’t start out to be disruptive,” says John Suh, LegalZoom’s chief executive officer. “We were set up to fix a problem. The legal system was broken and too many people were frozen out of it.”

For Suh, the main goal of LegalZoom continues to be providing access to the legal system for millions of Americans who can’t afford an attorney and do not qualify for free legal services. “So much of our legal system is focused on BigLaw or access to justice for those below the poverty line,” says Suh. “What about the 84 percent or so of people between that? For them, the system really has failed.”

What Suh has done during his tenure as CEO is transform the company from a do-it-yourself outfit into one that has partnered with lawyers.

“The perception that we’re an online legal company with no human lawyers is just not true,” says Suh. “Over the last five years, we’ve embraced lawyers and become quite adept with working with them.” There have been over 200,000 one-on-one consultations between LegalZoom customers and lawyers licensed in their respective states, he says.