The Advent of the Attorney-Client Matching System.

"Rise of the Machines"

It is, of course, not surprising that the Internet would provide the substrate upon which a solution could be developed to solve the competing concerns of (1) helping the middle sector of the population gain access to good legal counsel, and (2) protecting this same group from unscrupulous attorneys, misleading advertising, shoddy work, and high-pressure solicitation tactics.

In 1999, the first attorney-client matching system was conceived by the founders of LegalMatch, and a historical advancement in legal marketing began to emerge. While the original vision is still at the core of the system, it has evolved based upon experience since its launching. One of the objectives of the original vision was to effectively reach the middle sector of the population, and help these clients make informed decisions and retain competent counsel, while providing the best possible consumer-protection, thereby achieving the objectives of the ethics rules that govern attorney advertising and solicitation.

The LegalMatch system is a nation-wide double-blind matching system. It is new and unique, and is therefore not one of the four traditional vehicles of lawyer advertising; consequently, the LegalMatch system is not subject to the second tier of ethics rules. As explained in more detail later, the LegalMatch system, and others like it are not a: (1) Lawyer referral program; (2) Pre-paid legal services plan; (3) Joint or cooperative legal advertising; or (4) Directory listing service.

In addition, LegalMatch was designed to achieve the objectives of the “general” rules of the first tier and, for the reasons discussed below, participating LegalMatch attorneys do not violate the ethics rules regulating lawyer advertising and solicitation.