As some of you may recall, in my post entitled 4th Grade Spelling Bee, I wrote about the default points that we give (and then sometimes take away) for industry recognition items in an attorney’s profile. Well, it is time to say goodbye to default points. I can hear the disappointed sighs (and a few sniffles). So long default points, we hardly knew ya . . .

One of the main reasons for having default points in the first place was that our data management team was simply overwhelmed with the amount of information we were receiving. Our backlog after launch was as long as two to three weeks, and we didn’t want attorneys inputting their information without some feedback from the site. Also, we saw this as a low-risk proposition because we expected attorneys, who follow rules better than your average bear, to include in this section only those awards, articles, etc., that were relevant to the practice of law.

Our thinking on default points has changed largely because we have chewed through our backlog and reduced our scoring time on “unknown” submissions to roughly 24 hours. Our success here is due to our crack data management team led by the esteemed Linnea Long, as well as Justin Chan from our development team who continues to improve our data management tools. While our scoring times will always fluctuate with volume, we believe we now have the right processes and technology in place to keep scoring times around the 24 hour mark.

We also found instances where a few attorneys submitted silly industry recognition items in an attempt to enjoy their default points for a couple of weeks (one of the better examples is Captain XBRL*) or to provide fodder for similarly silly class action litigation (see paragraph 7 of the plaintiffs’ complaint in Browne v. Avvo). This change will remove that sideshow as well.

Avvo: Always changing. Always improving.

Mark

*In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that Captain XBRL is actually Broc Romanek, a dear friend who is also the Editor of the The Corporate Counsel. He writes a great blog that is widely read by corporate and securities lawyers. So why would Broc mess with Avvo by assuming the Captain XBRL identity? Well, he finds great humor in it; and you only need to spend a couple of minutes with Broc to appreciate his humorous approach to life. I actually like his Avvo page; I just don’t want him getting default points for it. ;-)

1. Laura Wasser Los Angeles, CA – A whopping 606 unique users perused the profile of Britney Spears’ (former) divorce attorney last week.
2. Sorrell Trope Los Angeles, CA – Appropriately coming in right behind Laura Wasser, is Sorrell Trope, Britney’s new divorce lawyer according to Yahoo .
3. Briteney Mercer Seattle, WA

4. Mark Vincent Kaplan Los Angeles, CA – Arghh! This time it’s Kevin Federline’s council.
5. Patricia Paul

6. Ruth Bader Ginsburg Washington, DC
7. Roni Deutch North Highlands, CA

8. Donald Heyrich Seattle, WA

9. Barry Scheck New York, NY
10. John Henry Browne Seattle, WA

By now you may have heard about the lawsuit filed by Nebraska state senator Ernie Chambers against God, for causing “fearsome floods, egregious earthquakes, horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes, pestilential plagues” and more. If you aren’t up to speed on this, you can enjoy the AP Story about it. Mr. Chambers was trying to make a point about frivolous lawsuits and the fact that anyone could be sued for pretty much anything. Well, not that God needs a lawyer, but if he did he might be familiar with the following attorneys:

Arthur Angel
Jesus Cadena
Moses Lebovits
Mohammed Bidar
William Priest Jr.
Abraham Brown

I want to recommend Jonathan Harr’s book entitled, “The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece.” Many of you may know Harr from his book “A Civil Action” a book so good that they had to get John Travolta to star in the movie. :-)

Similar to “A Civil Action,” Harr takes a fairly academic subject (litigation in “A Civil Action” and art history in “The Lost Painting”) and makes it accessible and interesting. He finds people who are extremely passionate about what they do and explores that passion and how it drives them. Without giving away too much of “The Lost Painting,” Harr follows first a young Italian art scholar who is trying to find a lost Caravaggio painting and then a seasoned Italian art restoration expert who thinks he has found it. What a story they weave.

Some of you may know that I spent a year in Italy after my time at Expedia (in fact, Avvo is short for “Avvocato,” which is lawyer in Italian). I taught during that time, but I also took two art history courses with my wife. Caravaggio was a frequent subject in those courses, so the book had an added significance for me. Still, Harr fills “The Lost Painting” with enough history about Caravaggio and his time that anyone can enjoy it.

Avanti!

Mark

1. Laura Wasser Los Angeles, CA
2. Steve Berman Seattle, WA (Recently in the press for his class action lawsuit against British Airways for Lost Luggage.)

3. Sharon Chirichillo Olympia, WA

4. Robert Bennett Houston, TX

5. Briteney Mercer Seattle, WA

6. Edward Loss III Glendale, AZ

7. Andrew Goldner Atlanta, GA
8. Roger T. Dunaway Seattle, WA
9. Roni Deutch North Highlands, CA

10. Michael Clark

Normally I’m not one to offer unsolicited fashion advice; however, I just read John Remsen’s post: Lawyers Should Look Like Lawyers and it struck a chord.

“I don’t know about you, but if I’m paying north of $350 an hour for legal services, I want my talented, high-priced lawyer to look like a talented, high-priced lawyer