UpCounsel is an online marketplace for legal services created to enable users, primarily entrepreneurs and businesses, to find and hire attorneys.

UpCounsel was founded in August 2012 by Matt Faustman and Mason Blake, to give startups and other small businesses access to legal help.

[8] In December 2014, the company secured $2.4 million in a seed funding round headed by Metamorphic Ventures and Crosslink Capital, in which Homebrew also participated.

[9] Initially, UpCounsel catered to the technology industry, but it expanded in 2014 to other sectors such as biotechnology, real estate, retail, food service, and entertainment.

[6] In September 2016, the State Bar of California mailed private admonitory letters to attorneys who were offering their services on UpCounsel.

[13] In response, UpCounsel said, "LegalForce and ... Abhyanker have made a habit of abusing the courts in this district to compensate for their professional shortcomings.

Rather than compete in a fair and open market, they attempt to use litigation to squeeze and bully companies that have succeeded where LegalForce failed.

"[14] In January 2019, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers permitted the majority of the false advertising and unfair competition assertions to proceed.

[17] According to The Australian Financial Review, companies that provide related services to UpCounsel include LawyerMatch, Lawtrades, Priori Legal, and Lawdingo.

[19][20] UpCounsel's new management team included Enduring Ventures co-founders Xavier Helgesen as acting CEO and Sieva Kozinsky as chief financial officer.

[22][23] This allows businesses to secure legal assistance from independent lawyers instead of needing to sign a contract with a large law firm.

[6] Lawyers who participate on the platform include those, for example, who desire to work reduced hours during parenthood, finding a law firm, or had lost their previous jobs.

[2] The company aims to reduce prices for customers but maintain the compensation for attorneys by removing the overhead paid to law firm partners and administrative expenses.

Take UpCounsel, which calls itself 'a cross between Uber and eHarmony — the on-demand marketplace matching lawyers and small businesses to curated legal counsel.