Legal Ease

Need a lawyer? A Web site can help you find one who's ready, willing, prescreened, and affordable.

EVERY YEAR IN

America, about three million women are physically abused by a husband or boyfriend. Only about 24 percent of single mothers receive rightful child support. Divorce, custody, alimony — all of these require legal counsel, yet often women have no idea where to find it because they lack the networks through which to seek a referral.

One solution is Legalmatch.com, an Internet attorney-client matchmaker. Visitors to the site enter their home state, basic information about their case, and the amount of money they can afford for legal fees. Within 24 hours, rigorously prescreened local lawyers respond to them via email or phone. (On average, each client is contacted by three attorneys.) Last year 63 percent of the site's users were women (up from 50 percent in 2002), who found a smart, safe way to take the law into their own hands.

-Rachel Bertsche