Tools for Finding a Good Lawyer

Most people are up against a wall when they need to find an attorney. Before the Internet, there was a publication known as Martindale Hubbell, which categorized and rated lawyers. It is still often found in public libraries.

An Internet version of Martindale is now around, but over the past several years the number of lawyers directories has increased exponentially. It seems that every week someone new calls our office, inviting us to purchase a spot in their directory.

There are two general categories of lawyer directories: The first category includes both lawyers and other types of businesses. Examples of this are Google Plus, Yelp, Facebook, and nearly every local newspaper. The second type of directory is limited to attorneys. Examples of this are Lawyer Ratingz,  Avvo, FindLaw, lawyer.com. Of all these, Avvo is richest in features. Once an attorney claims his or her Avvo profile, they have the ability to add photographs, videos, and documents. They can draft a legal guide for readers which explains a particular area of law, and they can answer questions posed by Avvo readers. Unlike Super Lawyer Magazines that are nothing more than a popularity contest, Avvo rates every attorney according to an algorithm, which includes the professional achievement of the attorney, the disciplinary record of the attorney and endorsements by other attorneys.

Considering all the above, you might think that Avvo is the best tool for locating a competent attorney. While it is a good tool, by relying on it exclusively, you may miss a skilled attorney.

A large number of attorneys intentionally boycott Avvo, and for good reason. First, Avvo assigns an arbitrary rating to an attorney with missing or incomplete information. The burden is on the attorney to fill in the complete information to get an accurate rating. Once the attorney claims their profile, they must continue to participate in Avvo or the rating goes down over time! It is not voluntary and many attorneys resent that fact. Another funny thing about Avvo… the more a lawyer participates in the directory features, such as by answering questions, the more calls you receive from Avvo salesmen wanting to sell a “premium listing” with strategic placement as a featured attorney. While I do answer questions, and many answers have been rated excellent or helpful by other lawyers or readers, it has never enhanced my practice. It is a coffee break diversion for me. Some people enjoy crossword puzzles, others enjoy playing cards or fantasy football; my diversion is answering Avvo questions and seeing how other attorneys and readers rate the answer. 

The final problem with Avvo is that the “secret algorithm” used to rate each attorney is not really that secret. Avvo shares some information. Incredibly, good client reviews do not increase an attorney's rating. Peer endorsements do increase a lawyer’s rating, so it is simply a matter of trading endorsements with an attorney with whom you play golf or know in a casual or business setting. Also, giving a presentation to other lawyers will increase an Avvo rating whether or not the presentation has anything to do with the lawyer’s regular area of practice.  So by relying only on Avvo,  you might miss a very good lawyer who does not claim their profile, or you may engage an attorney who has manipulated the data to increase their rating.

Here are some other ways to find a good lawyer: speak to family, or friends or your current lawyer for a recommendation. Look at the actual client ratings for the lawyer in Google Plus, Yelp, Avvo, or even the rating sections of the local newspaper. Determine if the lawyer has done any pro bono work in your community or whether the law firm buys ads in local papers or other publications that support the local community. Inquire about outcomes in previous cases, as well as how much the lawyer charged the client for that project. Then, when you are done, rate the lawyer’s work so others will know.

Stay well until the next post.

Bob Gasparro

Bob Gasparro is an Elder Practitioner (accountant and attorney). He can be reached at Robert.Gasparro@lifespanlegal.com or (484) 297-2050. Comments to this post, and ideas for future posts are welcome.