Well, not quite, but when does a legal directory become a provider of legal services?
Now, it seems, with the rollout of Avvo Legal Services, a fixed-price offering starting at $39 for a 15-minute advice session or $149 for a document review, and initially covering routine legal scenarios for business, family and immigration.
Avvo has billed the new service as “the Match.com of legal,” and said it represents:
“A shopping experience designed to make finding and hiring a local attorney easy as the click of a button, via desktop, tablet or phone. By bringing these legal services to a shopping platform that provides people a selection of attorneys in their area at a fixed price, we’re bringing unparalleled cost transparency and ease of access to an industry that intimidates many.”
To use the service, you go online or to the app.
Then you select a type of legal issue, before submitting payment information.
An attorney calls you back within 15 minutes for an initial consultation.
Not everyone is convinced that 15 minutes is enough for a lawyer to get to the heart of the problem.
For its part, Avvo has said that its research showed that most consumers got the information they needed in less than 15 minutes – such as seeking clarity on how to proceed with a legal issue, determining if you need a lawyer, and identifying potential legal trouble.
Avvo Legal Services is the latest stage in a remarkable evolution at Avvo, which started life as lawyer directory, then added a question-and-answer facility, before its most recent incarnation as a quasi-provider of legal services.
Avvo Legal Services is built on the back of Avvo Advisor, which launched in 2014, and introduced the concept of the $39/15-minute consultation to Avvo users.
Avvo Advisor was initially available in nine legal categories and fifteen states, while Avvo Legal Services is available in 18 states, with more on the way.
Prior to Avvo Advisor, Avvo trialled an earlier service called “legal marketplace”, which launched in 2013.
The Avvo website is now divided into three clear buckets:
1/ Directory – to search lawyer profiles
2/ Topics – to receive answers to legal questions
3/ Services – to talk directly to a lawyer
Avvo was launched in June 2007 by Mark Britton, the former general counsel of online travel agent, expedia.com.
Since then it has grown to become the largest online legal marketplace, and one of the most heavily used legal websites.
where i can find a cheapest lawyer’s price list near by my location?