Martindale-Hubbell's lawyers.com Expands Online Distribution Through Business.com Network of 50 Leading Business Web Sites

Business Wire, Sept 4, 2002

Business Editors

NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 4, 2002

Martindale-Hubbell(R), the most frequently consulted resource for information about the worldwide legal profession, today announced that it has become a marketing partner of Business.com, the Web search destination for small business professionals, and its network of more than 50 leading Web sites.

The new agreement enables lawyers.com, Martindale-Hubbell's Web site for the general public, to reach 12.5 million business people per month through business-oriented Web sites representing 25 different industries. Lawyers.com is now the exclusive online attorney directory for Business.com and its network of partners, including BusinessWeek Online, CNET, Inc.com, FastCompany.com, Entrepreneur.com and CBS MarketWatch.com.

Business.com has built the largest business network on the Internet for distribution of search results designed for businesspeople. With more than 22 million searches generated per month, Business.com search results are distributed to the majority of the top business sites on the Web.

"Our relationship with Business.com will help us achieve our strategy of increasing the visibility of our customers among small business professionals nationwide," said Carol Cooper, publisher of New Providence, N.J.-based Martindale-Hubbell. "Small business is the fastest growing segment of the American economic landscape and business owners have a wide range of important legal challenges that require outside legal counsel."

According to Cooper, when visitors to Business.com and any of its partner Web sites search for legal-related topics, lawyers.com will be the exclusive lawyer directory featured in the search results for more than 100 categories of law.

Lawyers.com helps users find legal counsel, review credentials of lawyers and educate themselves about the legal process. In the past four years, it has emerged as an award-winning resource, feted by such recognized media organizations as the New York Times, Forbes.com, Entrepreneur, Fortune and PC Magazine for its content and ease-of-use. In particular, the popular "Find a Lawyer" search capability, the centerpiece of the lawyers.com site, makes it easy for individuals to find the right lawyer for their specific needs. For example, users can identify an attorney by searching criteria such as location, lawyer or law firm name, area of practice and fluency in particular foreign languages.

"Martindale-Hubbell's highly regarded lawyers.com is a tremendous addition to the breadth of resources offered through Business.com's network of leading business sites on the Web," said Todd Sims, vice president of sales of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Business.com. "In addition to learning more about when they need legal counsel and how to go about choosing a lawyer, our users now have unlimited access to a database of lawyers all over the U.S. who practice in various areas of the law."

Lawyers.com is published by Martindale-Hubbell. The Martindale-Hubbell Legal Network is the number-one resource for information about the worldwide legal profession, and is consulted daily by lawyers, business executives and consumers. With 2.5 million searches per month, this unrivaled network connects lawyers and law firms with their clients and potential clients, facilitates communication between members of the legal profession, and makes available a wide range of biographical information and professional credentials regarding attorneys in private, corporate and government practice. It is powered by a database of more than 1 million lawyers and law firms around the world.

The Martindale-Hubbell Legal Network is available to users on the Internet at www.martindale.com; www.lawyers.com; lexis.com, the flagship legal research system from LexisNexis(TM); lexisONE(SM), the LexisNexis resource for small-practice legal professionals; LexisNexis services; on CD-ROM; and via the 23-volume Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. Martindale-Hubbell is part of the LexisNexis Group, the legal division of Reed Elsevier plc. For more information, visit www.martindale.com.