Legal Press Helps Lovelorn Looking for Lucre in Love : Matchmaking: Two New York-based trade publications are now accepting personal ads.
Lawyers may very well be among the least-liked type of professional and a constant butt of jokes, but trade publications are capitalizing on the fact that attorneys are a big hit with at least one group--the lovelorn.
Beginning this month, two New York-based legal trade publications--usually associated with such serious stuff as trends in anti-trust and bankruptcy law--began running personal ads.
And it appears that some other legal papers around the country, including those in Washington and Chicago, may follow suit.
“Even serious people aren’t serious all the time,” said James Finkelstein, publisher of the 101-year-old daily New York Law Journal--which began running a Wednesday personal ads page on Oct. 11. “Everybody wants to meet a lawyer.”
In this case, it is not for litigation.
“No kids, no pets, just hot romance,” says one male, non-lawyer advertising for a lady barrister to “share a second life in the Caribbean.”
Legal publications do make sense for those in search of an affluent spouse or lover. The annual income of subscribers to both the Law Journal and the weekly Manhattan Lawyer, which began running personals in its Oct. 17 issue, is a healthy six figures.
The Law Journal has a circulation of 15,000 and Manhattan Lawyer about 10,000.
“We’ve gotten a lot of calls over the years from people who wanted to place personals and we rejected them (the ads),” said Finkelstein. “Now it’s become a legitimate way for busy people to meet one another. We simply decided to accept it.”
Margaret Samson said that when she became publisher of the two-year-old Manhattan Lawyer in May, “We wanted to look at what we were doing, what could be interesting. I thought lawyers (who work long hours) might have a social problem and that personals are a method to find dates.”
Both Finkelstein and Samson said that most of the ads are being placed by women--while the majority of subscribers to both their publications are male.
One such ad reads as follows: “Show this to your boss if he qualifies. I’m a gorgeous, successful available woman with no time to look. If you’re a top ‘legal eagle’ over 45 and a terrific guy, send note/phone.”
Another says:”I’m looking for a white knight to make a tender offer. Object: Serious merger.” While a different women, an “aspiring journalist,” seeks a man “who thinks good food is almost, but not quite, as good as sex.”
But men are advertising too. For example, one “very athletic male lawyer” is looking for a special lady “interested in offsetting her time sheets with time spent on non-billable romance.”
Both papers have a three line minimum. The Law Journal charges $15 a line and Manhattan lawyer, $22.50.
The move by the two journals has definitely caught the eye of other legal publications around the country.
“We would certainly consider it, but we really haven’t begun to explore the possibility at this point,” said T. Sumner Robinson, associate publisher and editor-in-chief of The Los Angeles Daily Journal, the country’s largest legal daily, with a circulation of 18,000.
Papers in Chicago and Washington were more positive.
Bernard Judge, editor and vice president of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, said the paper is now considering running personals. The Bulletin has a circulation of 10,000.
“My guess is that we’ll do it,” said Judge. He said that although the Midwest is more conservative than the East or West coasts, “The world is getting very fast-paced and lawyers do work long hours.”
“We’re very interested in the idea,” said Peter Scheer, publisher of the Washington-based Legal Times, a weekly with a circulation of 10,000 that is owned by the same company as Manhattan Lawyer. “If it’s successful at Manhattan Lawyer we will take a very close look at it,” he said.
