A2J Author vs eForms

A2J Author lets court, legal services, and law school staff create web-based guided interviews to help self-represented litigants complete court documents. Authors use a graphical flowchart map to arrange dialogue and branching questions. Document tools include a template automator for basic documents and the A2J Document Assembly Tool for creating templates. CALI offers free hosting on A2J.org for interviews and templates intended to assist litigants; organizations can also self-host the A2J Viewer, A2J DAT, and interviews. The system is browser-based, and the project history says version 7.0 opened the source under the GNU Affero General Public License. Authors can create Section 508 and WCAG2-compliant interviews when using the latest Viewer and following the accessibility checklist. The free plan is for legal aid organizations, government entities, courts, and other nonprofits using the software non-commercially, with a registered and authenticated account. HotDocs templates cannot be published on A2J.org. When self-hosting, generating documents from HotDocs templates requires LawHelp Interactive or a HotDocs server.

eForms provides printable and fillable legal forms that users customize by answering questions, then print, download, or email. Its library includes real estate documents such as leases and deeds, as well as estate-planning documents such as wills and living trusts. Completed forms can be downloaded as Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word, or Open Document Text files. Blank templates are available to download without an account or billing information. Listed plan features include unlimited printing, PDF/Word/ODT export, regularly updated forms, and forms suited to state laws. The web service is intended for families, legal professionals, and entrepreneurs. Pro Monthly starts with a seven-day free trial and renews at $49 per month after the trial. Pro Annual costs $12 per month, billed as $144 upfront for one year. A single-document option has a variable one-time charge and allows unlimited access and revisions to that document. Lawyer Chat provides general legal information through automated tools and independent third-party legal experts. eForms says it is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice; its support agents cannot answer legal questions.