What UpCounsel does

UpCounsel operates an online legal marketplace that connects businesses seeking legal services with a network of pre-vetted attorneys across the United States. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, the company positions itself as a cost-effective alternative to traditional law firms, claiming clients can save up to 60% versus conventional legal providers. The platform primarily serves small businesses, startups, Fortune 1000 enterprises, and in-house legal departments, with use cases spanning business formation (C-Corp, LLC, S-Corp), contracts, intellectual property, employment law, real estate, franchise, immigration, and outside general counsel services. According to company materials, UpCounsel has been used by over 10,000 businesses since inception.

The core product is the Attorney Marketplace, which uses a proprietary matching algorithm to pair businesses with attorneys based on stated legal needs and preferences. Users post jobs and receive custom proposals from attorneys—often within hours—then hire and pay directly through the platform. Supporting features include free document storage, e-signature tools, secure online payments, attorney profile ratings and reviews (totaling 15,000+ reviews), and 24/7 support. A secondary free legal documents repository provides templates and self-help guides. The platform is structured by legal area (15+ practice areas), state (15+ states), and city (15+ cities), with this taxonomy serving both as product navigation and as the foundation for an extensive SEO-driven customer acquisition channel.

UpCounsel generates revenue primarily through marketplace commissions and transaction fees on legal services facilitated through the platform. Pricing is usage-based and pay-as-you-go, with attorney hourly rates ranging from $100 to $500 depending on practice area (e.g., $150-$325 for business lawyers, $250-$400 for C-Corp attorneys, $300-$500 for patent attorneys). The company has raised approximately $30 million in total funding across multiple rounds from 2013 to 2021, including a $2.4 million Series A (December 2014), a $10 million Series B (July 2015) led by Menlo Ventures, a $12 million round in April 2018, and a $3.9 million Regulation Crowdfunding campaign on Wefunder in December 2021 from over 1,600 retail investors—the most successful crowdfunding effort by a female-led company in Wefunder's history. The company remains privately held with no disclosed parent or institutional control, suggesting founders and insiders retain significant equity.

Name

UpCounsel

Legal name

UpCounsel Technologies, Inc.

Website

https://upcounsel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UpCounsel is a San Francisco-based online marketplace connecting U.S. businesses with pre-vetted attorneys across 15+ legal practice areas. The platform uses a proprietary matching algorithm to serve SMBs, startups, and enterprises, generating revenue through transaction-based commissions on legal work.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Marketplace Commission: UpCounsel operates as a marketplace connecting businesses seeking legal services with attorneys. The platform facilitates connections and transactions between clients and lawyers, likely earning a commission or transaction fee on successful matches.
2. Attorney Network Access: The company provides access to a network of pre-vetted attorneys, charging clients for legal services facilitated through the platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

UpCounsel operates an online marketplace that connects businesses with pre-vetted attorneys for on-demand legal services. Businesses post legal jobs and receive custom proposals from attorneys within hours, then hire, pay, and manage work entirely through the platform. Supporting offerings include a free repository of legal document templates, integrated document management with e-signature, and 24/7 customer support.

Product overview

UpCounsel is an online legal marketplace platform that connects businesses with attorneys for various legal needs. The core product is the Attorney Marketplace, which uses a proprietary algorithm to match businesses with qualified attorneys based on their specific legal requirements. The platform offers a portfolio of legal area-specific attorney services including business formation (C-Corp, LLC, S-Corp), contracts, intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyrights), employment, real estate, franchise, and startup law. Supporting products include Free Legal Documents (templates and forms), Document Management tools with e-signature capabilities, and secure payment processing. The platform positions itself as a cost-effective alternative to traditional law firms, claiming savings of up to 60% compared to law firms, with attorneys averaging 14 years of experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UpCounsel Attorney Marketplace

Quantifiable outcome

• Save up to 60% compared to law firms
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• LegalZoom: LegalZoom is a large, established online legal services platform offering business formation, contracts, and attorney services across the US. It is the closest broad incumbent to UpCounsel, with overlapping SMB/startup legal service offerings but a wider product portfolio and stronger brand recognition.
• Rocket Lawyer: Rocket Lawyer provides online legal documents, attorney access, and subscription-based legal services to individuals and SMBs. It overlaps with UpCounsel's free legal documents and attorney marketplace offerings with a more subscription-oriented model.
• LexisNexis: LexisNexis provides legal research, information, and practice-management tools widely used by attorneys and legal departments. It is comparable as a broad incumbent in the legal-tech ecosystem intersecting with UpCounsel's attorney end-users and SMB buyers.

Direct peers

• LegalMatch: LegalMatch operates an online marketplace connecting consumers and businesses with attorneys across practice areas, with a similar posting-and-proposal model. It is a direct competitor in the US online legal marketplace category with comparable SMB targeting.
• Avvo: Avvo (owned by Internet Brands) is a legal directory and Q&A platform that connects consumers and businesses with attorneys and includes attorney profiles with reviews. It is a direct peer in online attorney discovery and marketplace functionality.
• LawDepot: LawDepot offers a library of legal document templates and attorney-backed services for SMBs and consumers. It is comparable through its document-template plus legal-services hybrid model that overlaps with UpCounsel's free legal documents and attorney matching.
• LawTrades: LawTrades operates an online marketplace connecting businesses with attorneys for on-demand legal services with a focus on startups. It is a direct competitor to UpCounsel in the startup-focused online legal marketplace category.
• Priori Legal: Priori Legal runs a curated marketplace connecting businesses with vetted lawyers across practice areas. It is a direct competitor to UpCounsel with a similar curated-vetting and SMB-focused marketplace model.

Emerging players

• Clio: Clio provides cloud-based legal practice management software used by law firms and legal departments. While it sells to attorneys rather than SMBs directly, it intersects with UpCounsel's marketplace through the attorney-side tooling ecosystem and law firm digitization trend.
• Ironclad: Ironclad is a digital contract lifecycle management platform serving enterprise legal teams. It addresses the contract drafting/review use case that UpCounsel covers via contract lawyers, but at the enterprise legal-ops tier with a SaaS model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UpCounsel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors15 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UpCounsel