  We calculate the $\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c^*(2595) l \nu$ and $\Lambda_b \to
\Lambda_c^*(2625) l \nu$ form factors and decay rates for all possible $b \to c
l \bar\nu$ four-Fermi interactions in and beyond the Standard Model (SM),
including nonzero charged lepton masses and terms up to order
$\mathcal{O}(\alpha_s, 1/m_{c,b})$ in the heavy quark effective theory (HQET).
We point out a subtlety involving the overcompleteness of the representation of
the spin-parity $1/2^+ \to 3/2^-$ antisymmetric tensor form factors, relevant
also to other higher excited-state transitions, and present a general method
for the counting of the physical form factors for any hadronic transition
matrix element and their matching onto HQET. We perform a preliminary fit of a
simple HQET-based parametrization of the $\Lambda_b \to \Lambda_c^*$ form
factors at $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_s, 1/m_{c,b})$ to an existing quark model,
providing preliminary predictions for the lepton universality ratios
$R(\Lambda_c^*)$ beyond the SM. Finally, we examine the possible
incompatibility of recent lattice QCD results with expectations from the
heavy-quark expansion and available experimental data.
