Flame Mail
It was in the 20th century that I last represented clients in private practice. So, you can imagine my surprise when this “client review” was recently submitted for my Avvo Profile:
“I just found my public profile on this internet site and am shocked at the complete lack of ethical standards this man seems to have. Everyone out these, PLEASE BE WARNED because it is very possible that you are in the same situation if you are an inactive member of a state bar or have let memebership lapse (because you don’t practice/live there anymore). Under the “Experience” tab, for one state it says I am “Not Eligible to Practice Law” in that state. In reality, I am an INACTIVE member of a state bar since I no longer live in that state, but continue to pay annual membership dues as an inactive member. I wanted to keep the option open to move back there one day without retaking the bar exam in that state so have chosed to remain inactive rather than completely giving up my membership to that state bar. I actually just sent a few hundred dollars this week for my annual inactive membership dues. Everyone who is in a similar situation, please be warned that if you are inactive in a state bar, Mark might be saying to everyone out there that you are “Not Eligible to Practice Law” in that state, which I think is defamation, particularly given that the ONLY explanation given is disciplinary reasons (of which I have NONE). I am, in fact, eligible to practice law in that state the second I pick up the phone and change my membership status to “active.” For another state, it says that I am “Suspended,” when in fact I just let my membership in that state lapse because it is DC and I can easily waive back in at any time I want. Since I don’t live there and they don’t require a bar exam to waive in, I saw no reason to continue to pay dues and so told the DC bar that I was going to let my membership lapse. This is very common. When you no longer practice law in a state, you stop paying dues to indicate that you are no longer a member. This is not exactly the idea that “suspended” communicates to someone doing random search on your profile. If anyone out there has let their membership lapse because they’ve moved from a state, be warned that Mark may have you posted as “Suspended.” Don’t worry, though, since the little bubble clarifies that it could be for “disciplinary reasons.” Thanks Mark. We really appreciate that. I will remove this review when he removes my profile. This man is causing headaches for many many people out there and his practices are ethically questionable. Actually, I have no question about the ethical nature of this website. It’s ethically void.”
While I appreciate the time this reviewer put into the elegant prose above, we will not be posting this as a client review. Why not? Avvo’s policy on client reviews has always been clear:
- We will not post client reviews that contain serious accusations that are not supported by specific facts.
- We will not post client reviews that have the appearance of not being submitted by an actual client
In order to remain consistent regarding this policy, we are also deleting this previously submitted “client review” that we had left on my profile for over a year:
“I used Mr. Britton’s website to investigate lawyers. His use of disciplinary information extracted from the WSBA web site to provide numerical recommendations is ethically questionable. It is ethical to provide objective information, such as the existence of a disciplinary matter and the date on which it occurred. To use such a matter to give advice, such as “use extreme caution”, is not ethical. Mr. Britton does not know the lawyer about whom he is giving advice, and he does not know the person to whom he is giving advice. Until Mr. Britton reforms his practice to provide objective information only, and to refrain from giving advice about persons he has never met to persons he has never met, he can not be regarded as a trustworthy attorney. I pledge to delete this review when the above reforms are instituted.”
I wanted our readers to see each of these “client reviews” because we are happy to take feedback – it is what we have repeatedly asked for. However, it is equally important that the growing number of attorneys using Avvo feel comfortable that our client reviews are managed according to clear and consistently followed guidelines. So hey – if I represented you in the past, feel free to leave a client review on my profile. Otherwise, please email me your suggestions. I love to read them and will always respond when they are constructive.
Thanks!
Mark
