Lawyr is a dating app for lawyers (and people who want to meet them)

The steady march towards every profession and niche having its own dating app has been quickened by the launch of Lawyr: a Tinder-like app for legal professionals and people who want to date them, available on both iOS and Android. Meanwhile, industry heavyweight Tinder has updated its app with an ‘Explore’ section.

The app follows the standard ‘match and chat’ format that Tinder pioneered, and while you don’t have to work in the legal profession to use it, one person in each match must be listed as being in the law industry, for a connection to be made.

Launched earlier in 2021 by former lawyer Matthew Rhodes, Lawyr has gained traction in legal media outlets such as ABA journal, Law.com [subscription required] and Canadian Lawyer.

Law students are able to be listed as legal professionals on Lawyr, as are non-lawyer legal workers such as personal assistants. The makers of the app say the service gives lawyers “a chance to trade off your status”.

Rhodes used to work in London for the international law firm Ashurst. He believed there was demand for a dating app for lawyers, largely because so many of them work long hours, with little time to meet potential partners outside their law firms.

“We know people in the legal profession want to date others in the community, but we also know going out with colleagues can create toxic issues. Lawyr solves the problem by letting legal professionals dodge the liabilities while still inking the deal,” James Dennison, Lawyr co-developer, said around the launch.

Speaking to The Times [paywalled], he once again underlined how the time pressures lawyers often faced were a big factor in launching Lawyr. He claimed that legal professionals would “benefit from a dating app doing the heavy lifting as they’re busy getting whipped by a banker to complete the latest deal before 3am.”

Tinder, Bumble et al also work in the early hours, but we see his point.

Tinder adds Explore Section

In other dating app news, Tinder’s latest features seem to be moving the app closer to social media, seemingly prompted by a desire to gain more Gen Z users more interested in TikTok and Instagram than the ‘original’ dating phone app.

A new ‘Explore’ section on the app offers more interactive functions such as ‘Hot Takes’, ‘Vibes’ and ‘Swipe Night’, allowing you to search for matches based on shared interests such as music or gaming taste.

The ‘Hot Takes’ function allows you to chat to someone before you match. A timer counts down, and a decision to match or not has to be made before it runs to zero.

Explaining the new function launches, Tinder said in a statement that Gen Z wanted “social experiences” and “more ways to meet someone”.

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