The 'Valentine's Effect' Delivers Divorce, Not Romance

SEATTLE, Feb. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite being a day of romance, not everyone is dreaming about roses on Valentine's Day. Avvo, Inc., the web's largest legal Q&A forum, directory and marketplace (http://www.avvo.com), today released data that the number of consumers seeking information about divorce on Avvo increases more than 40 percent in the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day.

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"Valentine's Day seems to be a natural catalyst for people to evaluate, and in some cases, make a change in their relationship," said Philadelphia divorce attorney Jennifer A. Brandt. "I see a distinct pattern where people take honest stock of their relationship in the New Year and make the difficult decision to seek divorce by Valentine's Day."

"For the last four years, we've consistently seen a large increase in the number of people searching for information on 'divorce' around Valentine's Day," said Leigh McMillan, vice president of marketing, Avvo, Inc. "The spike is so consistent and so prominent to warrant calling it the 'Valentine's Effect'."

Divorce and Valentine's Day facts and figures:

• Individuals from Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Phoenix and Dallas lead the country in the number of people looking for a divorce lawyer on Avvo.com.
• The average cost of getting divorced in the U.S. is $15,000.
• 67 percent of the users looking for a divorce lawyer in Avvo's divorce marketplace, which matches consumers with the right lawyer, are women.
• More than 8,000 people read the tongue-in-cheek legal guide How to Date a Lawyer in 2013, with a spike in readers the week of Valentine's Day.
• The Divorce Survival Guide, which offers three chapters of relevant content for people considering divorce, is not only the most popular survival guide, but 50 percent access it from a mobile device.

About Avvo, Inc.

Avvo.com is the web's largest legal marketplace for consumers and attorneys.  In Avvo's Q&A forum consumers can get free legal advice 24/7 from more than 150,000 participating lawyers, and Avvo's directory provides comprehensive profiles, client reviews, peer endorsements and the industry-recognized Avvo Rating for more than 95 percent of lawyers in the U.S.  Avvo helps lawyers grow their business with Avvo Ignite, a cloud-based marketing platform and website solution designed specifically for attorneys. Founded in 2007, Avvo is privately held with funding from Benchmark Capital, Ignition Partners and DAG Ventures. 

Avvo and Avvo Ignite are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avvo, Inc.

SOURCE Avvo, Inc.