Company Overview and History

LegalMatch History

LegalMatch was established in 1999 as a free, Web-based exchange to help individuals and small businesses make educated decisions when choosing a lawyer. Despite the Internet's vast resources, there were no services in the legal profession that enabled consumers to review the experience, the availability, and the fee structure of a lawyer before deciding whom to contact.

Today, LegalMatch is the industry leader in attorney/client matching services and is the best way to find the right lawyer. Powered by leaders in engineering, law, membership services, marketing and administration, LegalMatch operates in all 50 States, and has developed a comprehensive team of specialists that serve both consumers and the legal profession. The company is based in San Francisco, California with offices in Los Angeles and Austin, TX.

LegalMatch Timeline

1999	Online Legal Matching (OLM) concept developed by LegalMatch founding lawyers; with a goal to provide a Web-based exchange to help individuals and small businesses make educated decisions when choosing a lawyer.
2000	Exhibited at first legal tradeshow; Patent application filed; Beta service launched; LegalMatch.com goes LIVE.
2001	South Carolina Bar issues favorable opinion regarding new Online Legal Matching industry; Web site traffic increases 300%; Business partnerships with AOL, RentLaw; and Abacus announced.
2002	LegalMatch becomes top legal keyword sponsor for GOOGLE; Affiliate program unveiled: Commission Junction immediately collaborates with company; Caseload increase 20-fold in twelve months; Internal growth requires headquarters move to 22,000 sq. ft offices in SOMA district of San Francisco at a time when most DOT COM businesses fail; Priority Service launched.
2003	Utah State Bar announces partnership with LegalMatch; LegalMatch Los Angeles office opens; MSN partnership finalized.
2004	The North Carolina State Bar issues favorable opinion regarding Online Legal Matching; New targeting engine unveiled; Increase in recorded number of consumer cases continues - up 61%; Caseload at all-time high.
2005	Laurie Ziffrin hired as new CEO; Five year anniversary of company celebrated; Rhode Island Supreme Court issues favorable opinion regarding Online Legal Matching; Financial Services Group formed; NACDL partnership announced; Law Library released with Google Mini as search tool; LegalCenter unveiled.
2006	FTC releases unanimous favorable opinion regarding Online Legal Matching and Texas Bar issues same opinion a month later; LegalMatch Austin office opens; Oprah Magazine features LegalMatch in article; 24,934 cases presented in a single month, a new one month record.