Brian Liu

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Brian P.Y. Liu (born 1967)[1] is an American lawyer who was a co-founder of LegalZoom,[2][3][4] and the founder of BizCounsel and Overture Law.[5][6]

He was born in Taipei, Taiwan and moved to Bellevue, Washington at the age of 5.[7][failed verification] Liu graduated with a B.S. from UC Berkeley and earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 1996.[8] 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.[9]

He conceived LegalZoom in 1999 after planning it with Brian Lee, his college friend from UCLA Law School.[10] Their goal was to create an online resource that would make basic legal resources available to anyone through the Internet.[5][11][12] 

He launched the company in 2001 with Robert Shapiro, Edward Hartman and his friend Brian Lee, whom he met at UCLA Law School.[13][14][15] Liu and Lee started the company from their own funds.[16] Liu served as chief executive officer of LegalZoom until 2007 and was chairman of the Board of Directors until 2018.[1][17]

References

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  1. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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. Retrieved 2023-03-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  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.