Law Practice Today

Avvo, Inc. is seemingly becoming a phenomenon in the legal industry because it is the new and effective link that connects consumers to lawyers who can solve their respective legal issues. "Avvo" is short for avvocato, which means lawyer in Italian.

When two Seattle lawyers unhappy about their Avvo Ratings tried unsuccessfully to sue the company (Brown v. Avvo, No. CV7-920 (W.D. Wash.) after Avvo launched its free consumer web site (www.avvo.com) in June 2006, it gave the company more publicity -- the favorable kind --than it could have imagined. (See story below)

Though the case seemed to be the primary news around Avvo since its launch, the site continues to build its offering for consumers and lawyers:

• More than a quarter of a million people have visited Avvo since its launch.  
• Attorneys have already received more than 5,600 peer endorsements and client reviews since the site launched. 
• Lawyer websites have started to get traffic with more than 22,000 clicks to lawyers’ websites since Avvo started tracking this in mid-July
• Avvo also updated the Avvo Rating, enhanced search capability so attorneys can be found by their nicknames, and made it easier for lawyers to claim and manage their profiles.

Mark Britton, the company's chief executive officer and president, said the possibility of a suit may deter other companies from entering the market, but said there is no question about the need for easy-to-find information on lawyers' disciplinary records. (Biography below)

"Detailed information is hard to get and consumers are very intimidated by the legal industry," Britton said. "Anything that is hard plus intimidating leads to a lot of consumers actually not getting the help they need."

Avvo offers free information and guidance to help consumers choose the right attorney. A critical piece of guidance the company provides is the Avvo Rating, which is Avvo's effort to evaluate a lawyer's background, based on the information Avvo knows about the lawyer.  Avvo saves users hours of research time because they have scoured state courts, bar associations and lawyer websites to collect detailed information about every licensed attorney in 10 states, thus far, with plans to expand.

Avvo not only demystifies the legal industry with comprehensive and up-to-date attorney information, it also debunks what may be considered self-serving and self aggrandizing entities that are supposedly rating attorneys.

For example, just about every attorney listed in Martindale-Hubbell has an "AV rating" or the "highest rating possible" which distinguishes attorneys how?

"Super Lawyers" site says it will invite more than 800,000 lawyers nationwide to participate in their survey to determine the best attorneys. There are upward of one million lawyers in the U.S. so that leaves 20 percent out of the process if they even opt to vote. Also, if an attorney is chosen as a "Super Lawyer", he or she has the choice to pay for enhanced visibility in their publications.

Two features Avvo offers that help legitimize an attorney and his or her credentials are "Track Record” and "Avvo Answers". The former is a free, easy way for lawyers to post, showcase and discuss their best cases and matters via their Avvo Profiles. The latter is a free legal questions-and-answers forum that allows lawyers to answer legal questions posted by consumers facing legal issues.

You can view attorneys who already started utilizing the features and would be willing to share their experience at these links: Shelly Crocker (Avvo Answers) and Joseph Campos (Avvo Answers and Track Record).

Britton, a 15-year lawyer with deep experience in the legal and e-commerce industries, may be on to something that will level the legal playing field. After all, sixty percent of practicing attorneys in the U.S. don't even have a web site.

From a consumer perspective, experience, cost, track record and references are key as opposed to turning over a rock and being surprised by what is under it. Even Ben Franklin was cynical about choosing a lawyer. He said: "A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats."