Avvo rates and profiles attorneys in the United States with the goal of assisting people to choose the right attorney. The company pulls information from state bar databases and law firm web site bios. Attorneys may claim the profiles and input their own data.
The Avvo Rating comes from a mathematical model based on a lawyer's years in practice, disciplinary history, professional achievements, and industry recognition.
Several of the executives appear to have legal backgrounds including Avvo co-founder Mark Britton, an attorney for 16 years, formerly at Expedia.com. There has been criticism of the site from attorneys with privacy and defamation concerns. Michael Fertik, CEO at ReputationDefender, who appeared on a Dr. Phil episode in December 2009, has commented about the site on his blog.
To address the privacy and defamation concerns, it appears Avvo censors reviews and comments on attorneys' profiles. Who is to know the real truth on an attorney's rating. In order to post a client review, the person has to open an account, and allow Avvo to review the rating prior to posting. If Avvo does not agree with the client or believe that the person is a real client, the review does not post. As for comments following the reviews of others, Avvo allows them to post right away, but seems to review profiles periodically to remove negative comments. There is also a feature for people including attorneys themselves to flag comments as inappropriate for removal.
Avvo may be a site for attorneys to advertise services, but it may be too early to tell whether its rating system really gives potential clients a complete picture of the right attorney. The way to determine whether to engage an attorney may still come from time tested methods such as referrals from known relationships, or attorneys who offer FREE consultations like Rinne Legal.
