Brian Liu

Brian P.Y. Liu (born 1967) is an American lawyer who is a co-founder of LegalZoom, and the founder of BizCounsel and Overture Law.

He was born in Taipei, Taiwan and moved to Bellevue, Washington at the age of 5.[failed verification] Liu graduated with a B.S. from UC Berkeley and earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 1996. He began his career in corporate law at Sullivan & Cromwell, where he specialized in IPOs and mergers & acquisitions. He later moved to an in-house legal role at Oaktree Capital Management, a global investment firm.

He conceived LegalZoom in 1999 after planning it with Brian Lee, his college friend from UCLA Law School. Their goal was to create an online resource that would make basic legal resources available to anyone through the Internet. 

He launched the company in 2001 with Robert Shapiro, Edward Hartman and his friend Brian Lee, whom he met at UCLA Law School. Liu and Lee started the company from their own funds. Liu was chief executive officer of LegalZoom until 2007 and chairman until 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 "Brian P. Liu Profile". www.martindale.com. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  2. ↑ Huspeni, Andrea; Shontell, Alyson. "The 23 Hot Los Angeles Startups You Need To Watch". Business Insider. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  3. ↑ Childress, Steven Alan (2012-01-29). Hot Topics in the Legal Profession - 2012. Quid Pro Books. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-61027-111-0.
  4. ↑ Cohen, Barry H.; Rybarski, Michael (2009-12-18). Start-Up Smarts: The Thinking Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting and Growing Your Business. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4405-1291-9.
  5. 1 2 "LegalZoom – Democratizing Law through Innovation and Perseverance". IVP. 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  6. ↑ "LegalZoom Co-Founder Applies SAAS to Legal Services". bizjournals.com. 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  7. ↑ "AI and law sector expert appointed to LawtechUK Panel". University of Liverpool. 2020-10-28. Archived from the original on 2023-02-19. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  8. ↑ "Dean's Roundtable" (PDF). UCLA Law. 28 (2): 33. Spring 2006.
  9. ↑ Cremades, Alejandro. "This Entrepreneur Built A $2 Billion Business With 1,000 Employees By Disrupting The Legal Industry". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
  10. ↑ John, Daymond; Paisner, Daniel (2019-03-26). Rise and Grind: Outperform, Outwork, and Outhustle Your Way to a More Successful and Rewarding Life. Crown. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-8041-8997-2.
  11. ↑ "Money Dreams: Start a Business - content.2". money.cnn.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2003. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  12. ↑ "Case Study: LegalZoom". Justice Dashboard. 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  13. ↑ "15 years later, LegalZoom still fighting to fix 'a quiet crisis'". builtinaustin.com. 2016-05-23. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  14. ↑ "Legal Evolution". Character Media. 2007-06-02. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  15. ↑ Fisher, Daniel (2011-10-05). "Entrepreneurs Versus Lawyers". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  16. ↑ "Atrium - A Cautionary Tale". www.legalittoday.com. Archived from the original on 2024-08-07. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  17. ↑ "LegalZoom Co-Founder Joins Prenup Co. As Adviser, Investor". law360.com. 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2023-02-19.