The online startup Hello Divorce has received a $2 million funding boost to improve its services as a platform for making the process of ending a marriage quicker and cheaper.
Based in Oakland, California, the company formed by lawyer Erin Levine in 2018 has gained new investments from CEAS, Gaingels, Lightbank, and Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures. Individual investors like Jack Newton of Clio, Ed Diab of Equity ESQ, and Lisa Stone of WRG have also given seed money for the startup.
With Hello Divorce, Levine aims to change the billable hours model of lawyers hired to end a couple's marriage. According to Levine, these billable hours are paid regularly until the divorce has been finalized.
However, she saw the opportunity to use technology for divorcing couples to control how they have to end their marriage. She told Tech Crunch that this would remove the "level of conflict" that usually arises during the divorce negotiations.
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Improving the Process
Levine said that with the funding, Hello Divorce would scale up on the legal filing options across the country. Currently, Hello Divorce is recognized in Utah, Texas, California, and Colorado and will soon expand its services to New York and Florida.
Users may choose to file a $99 "do-it-yourself" divorce or take on a $700 to $2,000 service to allow the platform to match the client with legal help. Everything will be done remotely on the website or app. Levine said that the company had over 2,000 inquiries about divorcing or co-parenting while sheltering in place during the pandemic. They also had questions about what happens after a divorce in a post-pandemic world.
According to the lawyer, at least 80 percent of couples do not have proper counsel to pursue a divorce. Sometimes it takes couples between two to five years to decide to end their marriage because it is expensive, and the process is also complex in some states.
"Hello Divorce reduces fear and builds trust by hand-holding divorcing spouses through the complicated process without talking down to them," Levine said.
Newton said he decided to invest in the startup because Levine and her team of legal and tech innovators have simplified the inconvenient and emotional process of ending a marriage. He said that this idea allows ex-couples to move on with their lives on a positive note.
Already a Successful Business
Even without the funding, Hello Divorce has managed to grow as a company since its launch. In 2020, the startup was recognized for a James I. Keane Memorial Award for Excellence in eLawyering from the American Bar Association. The company also received the Reisman Award from Clio for its innovation in the legal industry.
The company has partnered with A2J Tech to build the backend and the technological infrastructure. Levine has also been recruiting mediators and other lawyers to provide remote legal services for the website.
Levine hatched her idea while working at the Levine Family Law Group in California. She conducted a gradual rollout of Hello Divorce to avoid ethical mistakes; thus, she couldn't expand to other states as fast as others have hoped. The lawyer also recognized that divorce laws differ from state to state, which contributed to the challenges of offering their services.
