LegalMatch.com founder indicted on federal charges
The Associated Press reports Dmitri Shubov, the founder of an Internet-based service that matches lawyers with clients was indicted for allegedly hacking into the voicemail system of an Irvine competitor and deleting messages.
Here’s a summary of the report:
Dmitri Shubov, 31, of San Francisco was charged with three counts of unlawful access to store communications and one count of making false statements, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Stolper said Wednesday. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Shubov is the founder of LegalMatch.com, which matches lawyers with potential clients, Stolper said, and one of his competitors is Casepost.com. Shubov allegedly telephoned the company, used an access code to hear messages and then deleted them, Stolper said.
He also allegedly lied to FBI agents about the activity during an interview earlier this year, Stolper said.
I always thought matching people needing legal services with good lawyers through the effective use of technology was a good idea. But in the past month plus, there has been disturbing news circulating on blogs and listservs that LegalMatch’s sales techniques were really turning off lawyers – so much so that some lawyers felt the tactics were deceptive.
Even though some lawyers countered that they found LegalMatch of value, if these charges are true, LegalMatch is in real trouble. With the public, lawyers included, presuming guilt over innocence Shubov’s company may not survive the time it takes to determine whether Shubov is guilty.
In any case LegalMatch is going to have a hard time selling lawyers on their slogan “Trust LegalMatch to find you the RIGHT Lawyer.”