By joining together for the first time in this type of effort, the ABA and other state bars will leverage their combined expertise to create a dynamic, comprehensive, national online network. The network will offer easy-to-use lawyer search, topical legal information and quick connections between legal professionals. The lawyer search platform hosts some 90,000+ lawyer profiles and receives half a million quarterly visits. Combined with the ABA partnership and the scheduled participation of additional state bars, the network expects to reach over half a million lawyer-members by the end of 2018.
"While the online market for legal services has been exploding with confusing and in some cases very questionable options for consumers, CloudLaw has been carefully building the foundation for a credible, convenient alternative backed and developed with the collective input of state bar associations," SBM Executive Director Janet Welch said. "The current CloudLaw network has quietly been benefiting Michigan lawyers and the public for over two years, and its value will increase tremendously over time. The addition of the expertise of the American Bar Association is a crucial step forward."
"The American Bar Association is excited by the opportunity to collaborate with state bars to provide consumers with greater access to lawyers," said Linda A. Klein, President of the American Bar Association. "Technology can only do so much and people still need lawyers to help them solve their problems. We believe that the CloudLaw directory will allow potential clients to find the lawyer they need."
The expanded network will function as a central, searchable hub, while offering the same ethically focused and user-friendly features as the current CloudLaw network. In connection with the launch, CloudLaw will also rebrand the site domain name from zeekbeek.com to cloudlawyers.com.
"Today is a significant step forward in bar associations revitalizing their traditional role by providing a credible and ethically compliant marketplace to deliver legal services on the Internet," CloudLaw, Inc. CEO and President Robert Aicher said. "CloudLaw is proud to be the provider facilitating this online evolution."