OREANDA-NEWS. October 20, 2015. Minds + Machines Group Limited (LSE:MMX), the owner of the new ".law" top-level domain, today announced that .law domain names may be applied for by qualified lawyers on a first-come, first-served basis at standard rates. The seven-day Early Access Program, during which .law domain names were priced higher to accommodate initial demand, ended at 1600 UTC.

Antony Van Couvering, CEO of Minds + Machines, commented, "The early interest in .law by the legal community has been outstanding. The legal profession seems to agree with our foundational policy: that every name sold under .law or .abogado must belong to a qualified lawyer and that there is real value in domain names governed by meaningful, verified policies."

Early Adopters Lead the Way

Early adopters of .law domain names include prestigious state associations such as The Florida Bar; leading law firms across the country including Orrick, Skadden, and DLA Piper; the leading legal media outlets Law360 and ALM Media; professional legal organizations such as DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar, and the American Association for Justice, which is working with .law to ensure its members are aware of this opportunity; and many other firms, organizations, and individuals.

"Interest is coming from all corners of the legal profession," Lou Andreozzi, CEO of Dot Law, Inc. said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure names that can help rebrand, expand, or otherwise promote the legal profession. Many of the associations have indicated that, in addition to their own use, they will provide access to the new domain names as part of their membership benefits. Law firms large and small have expressed interest not only in their names but also in practice areas. They see this as an investment to help ensure their position as a leading practice. It is exciting to consider the possibilities."

With over 100,000 members, The Florida Bar is the organization of all lawyers who are licensed by the Supreme Court of Florida to practice law in the state. "As The Florida Bar continues to serve an ever more diverse and engaged constituency, it is important to look for new tools with the potential to help our membership leverage their resources in order to best serve their clients," said Pete Sweeney, Chair of The Florida Bar Member Benefits Committee. "We are excited to be among the first organizations to receive the new .law domain names and make them available to our members."

Orrick is a global law firm focused on serving the technology, energy, infrastructure, and finance sectors. "Law firms are constantly looking for new and more valuable ways to share market insights and content with our clients, and we applaud efforts to innovate in this area," said Orrick Chairman Mitch Zuklie. "We are delighted to be an early recipient of a new .law domain name."

Free Registration Opened Up to Law Schools

In addition, Minds + Machines is proud to announce its law school program, which will provide a .law domain name to accredited law schools, and will waive registration and renewal fees for the domain name. U.S. schools are the first to be afforded this opportunity; outreach to non-U.S. law schools is planned for the near future.

"We are proud to announce a program to provide accredited law schools with a dedicated .law domain name, without charge to the school," said Carl Jaeckel, COO of Dot Law, Inc. "For many law schools, their web and email addresses do not reflect that they are a law school or may be long and convoluted, such as 'initials of law school dot initials of university dot edu.' We hope that these new domain names will provide law schools with a tool to easily identify their position in the legal community."

Seton Hall Law School, the only private law school in New Jersey, is a leading law school in the New York metropolitan area. "We are delighted that the .law domain provides Seton Hall Law School with an extraordinary array of new branding opportunities for both the law school and our specialized programs," said Kathleen Boozang, Dean and Professor of Law, Seton Hall Law School. "setonhall.law distinguishes us as a leader in legal education and in the broader legal marketplace, regionally and globally."

About .law and .abogado

.law and .abogado are new restricted top-level domains (TLDs) that aim to promote trust in the professional legal community by creating exclusive online spaces in which lawyers can present themselves in a distinctive and memorable manner. Only qualified lawyers are eligible to secure a .law and/or .abogado domain name. A qualified lawyer is a professional who is licensed to practice law by an approved regulator of legal services in a given jurisdiction. For full eligibility criteria, please see the .law and .abogado Eligibility Policy. More information on .law is available at join.law.

About Minds + Machines

Minds + Machines (LSE:MMX) is a leading owner and operator of new generic top-level domains ("gTLDs") including ".law," and provides registry services to a range of high-profile clients. The Group also provides domain name services to consumers through its wholly owned registrar operations in the U.S. and Europe. For more information on Minds + Machines, please go to http://investors.mindsandmachines.com.