OpenLaw Raises $3.5M to Make Finding a Lawyer as Easy as Ordering an Uber
Hiring a lawyer often starts the same way you order late-night takeout: you Google it. But search results tend to favor whoever has the biggest ad budget, not necessarily the lawyer who’s best suited to help. That’s the problem OpenLaw co-founders Andrew Guzman and David Ngo are trying to fix, and investors are buying in.
The Miami-based startup just raised $3.5 million in a seed round led by Flint Capital and Slauson & Co., with participation from The LegalTech Fund, Mindful Venture Capital, Gaingels, Jenny Fielding’s Everywhere Ventures, and others. The goal? To rewire how people find legal help online—and to make the process more transparent, efficient, and accessible.
AI-Powered Matchmaking for Legal Help
OpenLaw uses artificial intelligence to match clients with vetted lawyers based on the specific details of their legal issue. Here’s how it works: a person submits a quick summary of their case on the OpenLaw site, and the platform’s algorithm sifts through a database of pre-screened attorneys. Qualified lawyers respond with proposals, clients compare options, and once they make a choice, the whole engagement—from signing the contract to communication—stays within the OpenLaw platform.
It’s designed to serve people facing real-life legal issues like family law, civil litigation, or criminal defense—not just businesses filing trademarks or incorporating.
A Win for Lawyers, Too
Guzman, a former law firm operator himself, knows that small and solo practices often spend more time chasing leads than practicing law. OpenLaw offers a way to offload that burden. By connecting lawyers with ready-to-hire clients, the platform reduces marketing spend and gives attorneys more time to do the actual work they trained for.
So far, OpenLaw has onboarded more than 130 attorneys across Texas and Florida, with another 300 on the waitlist. Expansion into New York, California, and Arizona is next on the roadmap.
What Sets It Apart
The “Uber for legal services” label has been used before—with mixed results. Startups like UpCounsel gained early traction but struggled to scale, while others like ContractsCounsel have remained under the radar.
OpenLaw hopes to stand out in two ways: by targeting high-volume, high-stakes personal legal issues, and by using AI not just for matchmaking—but for early alerts. The platform reportedly trawls public data to flag users who may be facing legal action, often before they’re even aware of it. “We have a very innovative early warning system where we let people know that they are being sued,” Guzman told Business Insider. “We want them to know that they have options.”
The Road Ahead
It’s still early days, and OpenLaw’s durability will depend on whether it can deliver value at scale to both sides of the marketplace. But with a fresh round of funding, strong investor backing, and a growing roster of attorneys and clients, Guzman’s vision may be one step closer to replacing Google as the default starting point for legal help.
Read more on Business Insider
Listen to Andrew Guzman with Gabriela Isutriz on the Venture Everywhere podcast: OpenLaw and Order. Now on Apple & Spotify and check out all our past episodes here!
