Lawyer-Client Matchmaking Site Too User-Friendly?

Aug. 8, 2008 — -- A woman in Los Angeles is suing Victoria's Secret over an alleged thong malfunction; a Nebraskan senator is suing God for terrorist threats; and a D.C. judge unsuccessfully sued a dry cleaner over a missing pair of pants.

Now some are worried that the launch of WhoCanISue.com, the latest lawyer-client matchmaking site, will produce a drastic increase in the number of lawsuits like these.

The Web site was created by Curtis A. Wolfe, the former general counsel for private equity firm Ener1 Group in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He claims the site provides a "more user-friendly" way of connecting potential claimants with proper counsel.

"I noticed a need to find a better way for lawyers to market themselves that has a better user experience and was more valuable to the user in the end," Wolfe told ABCNews.com.

Wolfe is confident his model will squash main competitors like SueEasy.com and LegalMatch.com, because he provides a more successful way for users to litigate claims.

He explains that the Web site is unique in its revolutionary new model of "browse, learn and connect" as users go through a screening process of five to 10 questions that ultimately tells the user whether or not they qualify to file a particular claim.

If they see the "Congratulations, you qualify to make a claim" page, users then can connect to local lawyers specializing in their type of claim through instant messaging, e-mail or phone calls.

"At other sites, users put in their claim information and interested attorneys can just start calling them, but this way the user controls the process the whole time," Wolfe explained.

But some critics worry that sites like WhoCanISue.com will trigger a landslide of frivolous lawsuits that get improperly "qualified."

The prospect that the screening process will weed out unwarranted lawsuits "is total bull...," an outraged Darren McKinney, spokesman for the American Tort Reform Association, told ABCNews.com.

You already "got people driving being told billboard after billboard, if they were within six blocks of asbestos, if you were in an accident, call me and I can get you money," McKinney said.

This Web site is "just disgusting, absolutely disgusting," McKinney said. "[It's] an organ by which to easily produce frivolous lawsuits!" he said.

But others disagree. Warren Hazelton, spokesman for the American Bar Association, told ABCNews.com he sees these kinds of Web sites as "nothing more than a different way of making a lawyer aware of a claim."

The Web site can't facilitate more frivolous lawsuits because, Hazelton said, "lawyers are obligated to make an assessment and pursue only those [claims] with merit" and the Web site doesn't absolve them of that requirement. "There are plenty of low-cost ways of finding a lawyer … and this is just a different way of doing it," he said.

Even Quinton Regal, vice president of Litigation at the National Association of Manufacturers -- a group that McKinney claims will likely be flooded with frivolous lawsuits-- doesn't find these kind of Web sites to be a threat.

"Sure, the easier it is to file a lawsuit the more lawsuits there would be," he said, but, echoing Hazelton, he reasoned "lawyers are still under an obligation to make sure their claims are legitimate."

Still, "the proof will be in the pudding," he said, claiming it's too early to have a strong opinion. "If the site matches attorneys with claims, that's one thing … but if it gives people the idea they have rights that don't really exist, and then [clogs] courts with inappropriate liability suits, that's another," he said.

Only time will tell. On Thursday, the site opened up to lawyers applying for application, and within the first couple of hours more than 50 law firms from across the nation had applied.

Though people have expressed interest in using the site to Wolfe, plaintiffs can't register until the site launches early in September.