How One GC Used Avvo to Find Local Counsel
One interesting side note to Avvo’s application to the Illinois Supreme Court for attorney records involved our use of counsel. Working for a pre-revenue start-up, I generally do all of Avvo’s public records request work myself, rather than spending money on outside counsel.
In Illinois, however, I needed some help understanding the court’s perspective and the puzzling decision by the ARDC to not release a list of names of attorneys. I also needed someone with deep familiarity with the Illinois Supreme Court and the process for filing an application like ours.
The Illinois Supreme Court
Unfortunately, most of the lawyers I know are in Seattle, San Francisco or New York. While I know a couple of M&A lawyers at Sidley & Austin in Chicago (including the indefatiguable Bill DeCarlo, who I’ve done several telecom deals with), I don’t know any Illinois appellate lawyers. What to do? I could try to get a referral from one of the lawyers I know, but that would take time, and wouldn’t necessarily bear fruit. I could check Martindale Hubbell, but I didn’t even use that 10 years ago when it was the only directory option - it’s just not detailed enough.
So I used Avvo - we ought to eat our own cooking, right? A quick search of Avvo turned up 531 appellate lawyers in Illinois; near the top of the list was Steve Pflaum, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery in Chicago. A quick check on his profile revealed that Steve knows the Supreme Court inside and out, has worked with the ARDC and has served on the Supreme Court’s Professional Responsibility Committee. In short, exactly the background I was looking for.
Steve didn’t expect that claiming his Avvo profile would lead to a parade of consumers seeking him out; he did so more as a matter of interest and online reputation management. However, as my experience shows, there’s no reason Avvo can’t be a resource for in-house counsel as well - and a means for even large firm attorneys to present themselves to potential corporate clients.