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Re: legalmatch.com--is it worth it?
Posted by Rob on 10/23/07


    It has been over 5 months since my last post, and it's the same sad story. In
    nearly two years, only 3 clients have retained me. The fees on those 3 cases come
    no where close to the amount I have already paid out, plus I am paying about $500 per
    month because I did not have the $11,000 or so to pay up front.

    I do not know if I agree that Legal Match has a good marketing strategy on behalf of
    attorney clients. Most of these people expect to retainers in the neighborhood of
    $300.00 (Initial court cost exceed that), if they are not expecting free services.

    I feel my fees are very reasonable, yet everyone I speak to from LM acts like I gave
    them a terminal illness when I ask for a retainer of $1,500 to $2,500.

    I may call them on their 6 months free deal because there is no way I will earn
    $11,000 in fees at this rate, but I do not plan on renewing at all if it will cost me.

    On 10/20/07, Jeff Minde wrote:
    > On 5/11/07, Rob wrote:
    >>>> LegalMatch is the worst investment I have ever made. <<<
    >
    > I too have had a very disappointing experience with LegalMatch. Their marketing
    > and support service seems to be competent, and I've followed all their suggestions
    > for writing good introductory templates. I've also been creative with the
    > templates. Nothing seems to work in attracting more clients.
    >
    > In 11 months, only one client has retained me, paying me only a modest retainer.
    > At $1000 a month for services, LegalMatch has been a huge loss to my small firm, a
    > real waste of resources.
    >
    > The problem is not the LegalMatch concept itself, but rather the types of clients
    > and cases it attracts. There are plenty of cases listed---at times five or six a
    > day---but for the most part, I find that all the clients have very unrealistic
    > expectations regarding the cost or the function of legal services. Often they do
    > not grasp why something cannot be resolved with just a single phone call or
    > a "lawyer's letter," and they refuse to invest time, money and effort in their own
    > case, even where it might concern child custody, for example.
    >
    > I've reduced my hourly for LegalMatch clients and offered extensive free
    > consultations, but this has not attracted clients.
    >
    > Many has been the time a request for a nominal $1000 Retainer for a matter
    > requiring Court appearances has been dismissed with a snort; supposed would-be
    > Clients solicit advice so that they can represent themselves; "I have no money"
    > and "I need pro bono" are frequent remarks I hear or read; and 80-90&37; of the
    > Client-written case descriptions are barely comprehensible.
    >
    > "Cherry picking" cases on LegalMatch is not a strategy, it is a necessity. Very,
    > very few of the listings represent truly viable cases. In almost a year I've
    > contacted about 100 people, and spoken to about 60 (the rest never responded).
    >
    > LegalMatch seems to be a gathering place for a woefully uneducated and very low-
    > income clientele. Most are seeking free legal services or legal aid. Very few seem
    > to understand the nature of their legal problems. I pride myself in being able to
    > explain complex issues in basic terms, but LegalMatch clients are among the most
    > difficult I've worked with.
    >
    > Since these clients have failed to do anything about their cases over long periods
    > of time, their legal position is always VERY weak. And as is always the case, the
    > weakest cases are always the most expensive to manage. These cases simply AREN'T
    > WORTH IT to the lawyer in terms of time versus compensation.
    >
    > LegalMatch's service is a good idea in theory, but the company really needs to do
    > several things:
    >
    > (1) Explain to the public WHAT LAWYERS DO.
    >
    > (2) Give the public an idea of WHAT LAWYERS WILL CHARGE and what COSTS are.
    >
    > (3) Make VERY clear to the public that it is not a pro bono or legal aid portal.
    >
    > (4) Give the subscribing lawyers a REASONABLE OPPORTUNITY to recoup their
    > investment by setting some GUIDELINES regarding the types of cases LegalMatch will
    > list.
    >
    > Right now, it's a garbage dump, and an expensive one, at that.
    >
    >
    > On 5/12/07, Rob wrote:
    >> They threatened to sue "me" - i.e. legalmatch because they googled pro bono
    >> lawyer and Legal Match was the first listing. There is apparently an option on
    >> Legal Match for a free lawyer so when I told the client I was not legal aide,
    >> thry were very upset. I was only able to calm her down when I gae her the
    >> number to the actual legal aide office.
    >>
    >> A lot of people I talk to think LM is a legal aide service.
    >>
    >> On 5/11/07, Kung Fu wrote:
    >>> When the client threatened you, what did you tell them? What ultimately
    >>> happened with that?
    >>>
    >>> You seem to have some exposure to the bottom of the barrel. Can you share
    >>> some of your experiences with that class and that kind of work?
    >>>
    >>> On 5/11/07, Rob wrote:
    >>>> LegalMatch is the worst investment I have ever made. Google pro bono
    >>>> lawyer or free lawyer and see who comes up near the top of the list (if not
    >>>> the first paid ad).
    >>>>
    >>>> In almost 18 months, only 4 clients retained me. The rest I spoke to
    >>>> thought I was legal aid. One threatened me with a lawsuit for "false
    >>>> advertisement."
    >>>>
    >>>> A waste of valuable resources.
    >>>>
    >>>> On 5/04/07, Get Serios wrote:
    >>>>> A practicing attorney needs efficient time management. Every attorney out
    >>>>> there gets calls and visits routinely that waste their time. A smart
    >>>>> attorney networks on many different fronts. LegalMatch is just another
    >>>> front
    >>>>> to find business. The key to LegalMatch service is the ability to pick and
    >>>>> choose what cases makes sense for you. The value surfaces in -not how much
    >>>>> money you make- (the obvious) but in how much time is saved. Who wants to
    >>>>> chase Google ads? That a job in itself. not to mention the high cost.
    >>>>> Lawyers are too caught up in being busy or in many cases trying to micro
    >>>>> manage everything. Forget it. Have a life as well as a practice. Support a
    >>>>> process that delivers the potential clients to your desktop inbox so you or
    >>>>> your para legal can easily sort through them. In the long run this will
    >>>>> reduce a great deal of busy work and enable one to become a better more
    >>>>> organized practitioner. If you don't see the value proposition in that
    >>>>> efficiency then you should keep doing what you've always done to see if you
    >>>>> get the change in results you expect. What's that the definition of?
    >>>>> Clearly attorneys need help in new case management. If we didn't need help
    >>>>> the YP wouldn't have the thickest section of advertisement listed for
    >>>>> attorneys. We wouldn't need to scramble around trying to figure out the
    >>>>> Internet services. While I'm at it...since this is about clients...at least
    >>>>> LegalMatch protects the interest of the client and the attorney by
    >>>>> permitting both to choose each other with discretion. I don't have to rely
    >>>>> on my gate keeper to make decisions on who I talk with. That's sane,
    >>>>> sensible, ethical and over time very profitable. Plus, I get to have a
    >>>> life.

     
     

 
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