Hmm – does this only apply to law professors? Avvo attorneys have had the chance to author Legal Guides for a few months now. For those of you who wish to bypass the Avvo editorial process entirely – though Holly and I are constantly told we are a pleasure to work with :) – we have introduced a new option. You can now quickly self-publish your own (How To) Legal Guides.

Top 5 Reasons to publish a Legal Guide

1. Become “Almost Famous“: Just ask Jonathan Stein, who submitted a Legal Guide about debt settlement and then found himself listed as a top-rated foreclosure attorney in a BusinessWeek article a few weeks later.

2. Get More Visitors to your Profile: Legal Guides are a Top 10 entry point for visitors to Avvo and because your photo appears prominently next to your legal guide, your profile is only a click away.

3. Appear on Top Lawyer Lists: We will regularly review Legal Guides and select the cream of the crop for our Top Lawyer lists. These lists will be published on the home page and other pages throughout the site – establishing Legal Guides authors as leading lawyers. Jefferson Coulter, the author of a Copyright Legal Guide, is currently featured on our home page.

4. Add to your contribution points. Each time you publish a Legal Guide, you’ll earn a whopping 50 points towards your contribution point balance, which is displayed on your Contribution Badge. Plus, if your guide gets selected as an Avvo Staff Pick, we’ll tack on another 10 points.

5. Get free promotional opportunities and a Starbucks gift card. Last, but far from least, if you submit a legal guide within the first 2 weeks of launch, you will receive free promotional opportunities on the site, and a Starbucks gift card.

Those of you still reading – and interested in submitting an edited Legal Guide, contact me at shalini at avvo dot com.