Four million people go online per month to get legal advice. According to Reuters the number is expected to reach 9 million by 2007. A recent article in Forbes Magazine 2/13/06 drew attention to the fact that the Internet is playing a major role in generating clients for Lawyers. This online activity has given birth to companies that match people needing legal assistance with pre-screened member attorneys.
Forbes' reporter Seth Lubove wrote, " Consumers looking for a lawyer used to have the usual options: the Yellow Pages, friends, the bar association or the 800 number on a bus-stop bench. Now they can turn to Internet lawyer matchmakers. In Priceline fashion, consumers enter their legal problems on a Web site, and lawyers pay the sites annual listing fees ranging from $2,500 to as much as $100,000 to compete for their business".
San Francisco Daily Journal reporter Itir Yakar wrote, Attorney Matchers compete fiercely to be the dominant player in this expanding marketplace. "Just like any other online matching service such as dating sites, clients fill out an online form, answering questions about the type of legal services they need. They are later notified when there is a potential match and again when the attorney has agreed to take their case. It is then up to the client whether to retain the attorney and to discuss fees directly with attorney".
Experts confirm that these online services have tapped into a burgeoning market.
Google's Business Times reports U.S. consumers spend up to $70 billion on legal services each year. Casepost and several other on-line firms utilize a web site designed to connect lawyers with potential clients. People use the site to send descriptions of their cases to attorneys. Consumers are empoweredto choose which attorney they hire based on the lawyers' responses".
"More and more people are becoming aware that they can go online and get legal services," said Bill Fawcett, Senior Vice President of marketing and a board member at Casepost. "People are starting to recognize that it's safe...and the Yellow Pages are outdated. There is a major upward trend for Internet matching services in general. We expect the legal Internet matching market to grow exponentially".
Anish Shah, CEO of LegalFish, another online attorney matching service, expressed confidence "There is room for each company to prosper in the growing online legal services market. The space is large enough".
Yakar reporting for the Daily Journal, "Companies like Casepost and LegalMatch are capitalizing on the fact that many middle-class people have not had exposure to lawyers or the legal system through friends and family. They promote themselves by promising to save time and money in the hunt for a lawyer. The two companies battle for the turf.
Randy Wells, Casepost CEO, agreed, "There is no doubt about it, there is competition for new client consumer traffic. Our success is attributable to the ease of which a person needing legal assistance can post their case. It costs the legal-seekers nothing. And it saves everybody time. Hundreds of thousands have posted their legal needs through the Casepost's system".
Jack Casey, author of the blog, LawFirmU.com, commented "With over one million attorneys nationwide and nearly one out of every five households needing legal representation, there has never been a greater need for online services that match people with pre-screened attorneys who are nearby and have expressed an interest to handle their case. It has become a big business".
