Sneak Preview: Avvo Singles
For 4 years now Avvo has been at the vanguard of uniting lawyers and consumers. In a very short time, we’ve gone from completely unknown to being the largest and most trafficked legal directory in the world. We’ve achieved such success by helping consumers solve their legal problems in ways no one else has, and by helping lawyers reach consumers easily and cost effectively.
As a result of our tremendous growth in a very rocky economy, Avvo recently secured a $10 million round of venture financing to fuel further expansion. Thus far we’ve been quiet about how we will use that money to expand, but now we feel it’s time share some of the details.
Discovering the missing link
After our “How to Date a Lawyer” article last February, we were inundated with emails from consumers wanting to meet single lawyers. Initially we laughed off the idea of matchmaking, but after running the idea by several single lawyers who also expressed interest, we slowly became open to the idea. A bevy of surveys and focus groups confirmed the real need for a lawyer dating site, and Avvo Singles was born.
Avvo Singles
In the near future, Avvo will be launching a new feature called Avvo Singles. The functionality will seamlessly integrate in the current Avvo website. Lawyers who have signed up for Avvo Singles will be called-out by a simple, elegant heart in their profiles. Two versions of the heart are offered depending on sexual orientation. Consumers interested in dating a lawyer can contact them in the same way they currently contact lawyers. At that point, Avvo steps aside and lets chemistry take over.
Avvo Singles: The best way for lawyers to find love
There are plenty of dating sites out there, but what distinguishes Avvo Singles is how naturally it fits into a lawyer’s life. As you well know, the single biggest dating challenge attorneys face is lack of time. Looking for love online can help, but setting up countless profiles on Match.com, Eharmony, Yahoo Singles, etc. is still time consuming.
With Avvo Singles, your lawyer profile already exists, and countless potential mates already see it every day. For consumers, Avvo Singles offers only pre-screened attorneys to choose from, which is a safe alternative to other dating sites where predators can operate with impunity. And while some may accuse us of blurring the line between business and pleasure, we trust that lawyers will exercise good judgment and follow professional conduct rules in their jurisdictions.
Pricing
Avvo Singles will be completely free for consumers, while attorneys will pay a modest $29.95/mo, with no contracts, set up fees or commitments. Compared to other online dating services, Avvo Singles is an extremely easy, inexpensive and effective way to find love.
Feedback welcome
Avvo Singles is set to launch in the next quarter and we welcome feedback from the legal community. We hope that lawyers, whether single or in a relationship, will see Avvo Singles as another sign of Avvo’s commitment to uniting lawyers and consumers in fresh, innovative ways.
April 1st, 2010 at 8:02 am
Good one! As former GC of eHarmony, and a current Avvo user, I approve. :)
April 1st, 2010 at 10:06 am
That’s just nuts. One thing I never wanted to do was to date someone looking for a lawyer (or doctor, or other professional) since it usually means that they are looking for $ instead of love.
/s Donald Kudler
April 1st, 2010 at 10:35 am
April Fool’s, right? This sounds kind of silly!
April 1st, 2010 at 11:04 am
is this an attempt at an april fools joke?
April 1st, 2010 at 11:27 am
Donald, check out the date of the post…
This is great!
April 1st, 2010 at 11:30 am
I assume this is an April Fool’s joke.
April 1st, 2010 at 11:56 am
This is a very interesting concept, but one caveat is very necessary here: While I’m not sure just how progressive other states are, California absolutely prohibits (as in we will not accept any excuses – it’s technically not so, but it’s the way our state bar applies it) any relationship with an emotional/sexual component between lawyers and their clients, and even between past clients and their counsel for a substantial period of time. This does not apply, fortunately, to situations where the personal relationship existed prior to the attorney-client relationship.
As they say, your mileage may vary depending on where you practice, but it behooves any attorney contemplating use of this service to check with your bar association (or whoever regulates attorney discipline) in your state.
sas
April 1st, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Don Kudler said, “One thing I never wanted to do was to date someone looking for a lawyer (or doctor, or other professional) since it usually means that they are looking for $ instead of love.”
Apparently he is not old enough (i.e., pre-harassment cases) to remember when many, if not most, young single women who took jobs in a law firm did so to find themselves a lawyer husband, and most single (and some not so single) young lawyers – who, back then, were almost exclusively male – salivated over the opportunity to take a dip in the secretarial pool… :-) This might seem alien to modern young lawyers, but it was a way of life in law firms throughout the seventies.
sas
April 1st, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Ha! What a great day to make your anouncement!
April 1st, 2010 at 1:32 pm
This is an April Fool’s joke right? If not, now I know Avvo is on it’s last legs. Your investors must be angry
April 1st, 2010 at 2:19 pm
this is just what i’ve been looking for. Thanks Avvo, what a great announcement for April 1. This is the way to start the spring!
Now I can mix business AND pleasure.
I’ll be sure to refer any future ethical violations to you Avvo.
Thanks in advance.
LD
April 1st, 2010 at 3:54 pm
Too bad she has no misconduct. It would be much more interesting if she did. And 7.2? From her picture she looks like at least an 8.
Happy April Fools Day
April 1st, 2010 at 6:06 pm
This could bring an entire new meaning to our “scores” and my “Pro” designation. Also, as a divorce lawyer and mediator, does one have to be single to use this new feature?
April 1st, 2010 at 6:30 pm
In response to Steven Schwaber’s comment, male attorneys (even the young naive ones) did not (at least not generally) “dip into the secretarial pool” in the major NYC law firm with which I was associated through much of the 1970s. One reason: The most attractive men in the law firm were the gays in the secretarial pool (who also were the best and brightest secretaries, in my experience). Another reason: It was too difficult to find competent secretaries of any gender willing to work for the meager wages NYC law firms then paid them to risk losing them to pregnancies and jilted lover tantrums. A third reason: The male attorneys in the firm were married to diligent, vigilant spouses. But my firm may have been the exception; Liz Holtzman worked there before I replaced her as the only woman attorney.
As for the concept of AVVO as a dating site, that’s a good one. Happy April Fools. If it’s not a joke, lawyer up.
June 5th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
I am in. Make me the first.