New Online Products for Small Law Firms

LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell® Introduces New Online Client Development Products for Small Law Firms

New Providence, NJ - Press Release - February 26, 2004 - LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, the leading client development company for the legal profession, today announced the introduction of three robust new online client development products specially developed for small law firms seeking to increase their visibility and new business leads.

"Research shows that print Yellow Pages usage is on the decline, while Internet usage is still growing at double-digit rates," said Joseph Douress, vice president of business development and marketing at New Providence, N.J.-based LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell. "More and more people are using the Internet to find, evaluate and select a lawyer, and our lawyers.com Web site is the most visited lawyer directory on the Internet by consumers and business professionals. These new cost-effective products from Martindale-Hubbell are all designed to help small law firms position themselves for success by standing out on the Internet and improving their chances for generating new client leads."

The three new online products for small law firms are the following:

• Edge Select - This sophisticated new offering combines robust technology and Martindale-Hubbell's proven Web expertise to aggressively position small law firms for online client development.

  Media Contacts: Daryn Teague for Teague Communications (661) 297-5292 dteague@teaguecommunications.com

  Edge Select includes everything a law firm needs to promote its practice on the Web: a customized Web site; improved placement on search engines; innovative content, such as practice area newsletters; multiple channels for clients to contact the firm, including a tool for placing a free call to the firm's office with the click of a mouse and no special software; and secure encrypted email for all attorneys within the firm. This new turnkey package even comes with four hours of free Web consulting time, during which Martindale-Hubbell's seasoned experts will help law firms customize their own Web site in order to generate the best possible client development results.
• Sponsored Results - Sponsored Results are prominently displayed at the top of each search results page. Convenient one-click access brings prospective clients directly from the search results page to the law firm's listing and Web site for more information. Lawyers.com is searched more than 9 million times each year by consumers and small businesses that are seeking a lawyer for their immediate needs, making it the number-one lawyer directory on the Internet for those audiences.
• Search Placement Pro - With this new service, Martindale-Hubbell's Web site optimization specialists will increase a law firm's Web site visibility by significantly improving its ranking on the Internet's four leading search engines. These engines - MSN, America Online, Google and Yahoo -collectively generate more than 80 percent of all Web traffic.

When prospective clients search any of these four search engines, law firms that have purchased Search Placement Pro will be listed on page one or page two of the results if the search terms correspond with certain keywords that have been carefully selected by Martindale-Hubbell. In addition, Search Placement Pro customers will gain access to an online statistical tool to track the ongoing improvement in their site's search engine rankings from day one of the program.

"All independent Web traffic measurement services document that our two online lawyer directory sites, lawyers.com and martindale.com, continue to be far and away the most popular destinations on the Web for individuals seeking information about lawyers and law firms," said Douress. "Moreover, according to a recent independent survey, 86 percent of lawyers.com visitors who are searching for a lawyer plan to actually hire one within a month of their visit. That means that we are uniquely in a position to deliver hot prospects to small law firm customers, especially those who take advantage of innovative new products like Edge Select, Sponsored Results and Search Placement Pro."

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About Martindale-Hubbell
Martindale-Hubbell is the leading client development company for the legal profession and is the number-one resource for information about lawyers and law firms worldwide, consulted daily by lawyers, business executives and consumers. With more than 4 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.

Martindale-Hubbell is also the leading provider of Web sites for lawyers and has recently announced a number of new products and services to facilitate client development initiatives for lawyers and law firms. These client development vehicles include opportunities to publish articles on the Web and in respected industry newsletters, invitations to speak at highly regarded professional conferences, and new products designed to market law firm practice area and industry groups. Martindale-Hubbell is part of the LexisNexis Group, a member of the Reed Elsevier Group plc. For more information, visit www.martindale.com.

About LexisNexis
LexisNexis (www.lexisnexis.com) is a global leader in comprehensive and authoritative legal, news and business information and tailored applications. A member of Reed Elsevier Group plc [NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK] (www.reedelsevier.com), the company does business in 100 countries with 13,000 employees worldwide. In addition to its flagship Web-based research service, LexisNexis, the company includes some of the world's most respected legal publishers such as Martindale-Hubbell, Matthew Bender, Butterworths, Les Editions du Juris-Classeur, Abeledo-Perrot and Orac.