Excerpts from: Arranged Rainmaking

Last May, Roxanne Mosley's fledgling law practice was struggling. So she signed up with LegalMatch, a Web-based business specializing in hooking up interested clients with qualified attorneys. Shortly thereafter, she says, things began to change.

The Sacramento, Calif., solo practitioner says she's had to move to larger quarters and hire an assistant to help her keep up with the all the work generated by LegalMatch. Mosley estimates she now gets between 70 percent and 80 percent of her clients as a result of the company's arranged introductions. "The results," she says simply, "have been phenomenal."

Here's how it works: Potential clients go to the LegalMatch Web site and answer a number of questions about their problem and the type of lawyer they are looking for (i.e., area of expertise and experience level). This information is then sent to subscriber attorneys. If the case looks interesting, an attorney sends, usually via email, a bid and a bio to the potential client. The potential client can then review the bids submitted by lawyers and decide which one to hire.

At the close of the case, LegalMatch offers clients an online evaluation form where they can rate their lawyer's performance: the results are then attached to the lawyer's LegalMatch profile.