The Washington Post ran a piece on the front of today’s business section detailing the DC Bar’s efforts to stop Avvo from offering its free service to DC consumers and attorneys. The article does a nice job of balancing our concerns (making information about attorneys more available to the public) with those stated by the bar (making sure information is accurate). Of course, this is the first we’ve heard of a specific grounds for the Bar’s objection – it’s all been about control/ownership of the data to date rather than any specific rationale for limiting access – and we are more than happy to make our data more current . . . if the bar would actually provide it to us rather than attempting to block our access.

In any event, it’s nice to see that the comments on the Washington Post story are running at least 10-to-1 in favor of what we’re doing here at Avvo. Some highlights:

ghostmoves wrote:
I’m a DC lawyer, and I’m embarassed that the bar is trying to stop anyone from putting public info on the web. Sorry, it’s not a secret that I’m a DC lawyer, nor is it copyrighted.

A member of the Washington, D.C. Bar forwarded me an interesting e-mail this morning. It’s the monthly newsletter from the Bar, and it includes a note about the Bar’s attempts to stop Avvo from offering our free attorney directory to consumers and lawyers in the District. This note is followed by two additional items that we can’t help but find amusing:

Bar Requests Avvo to Remove Member Information

The Bar is moving its headquarters to 1101 K Street. Read more…

So, let’s recap: The DC Bar wants Avvo to stop offering its service – which is, incidentally, one of the best ways an attorney can create a free and highly-visible presence online. At the same time, the Bar is acknowledging the difficult environment and the need for Washington, D.C. attorneys to find free and low-cost tools to improve their professional lives . . . as long as they’re provided by the bar.

Oh, and the bar’s moving – to bigger offices on sought-after K Street. Now, some DC attorneys have questioned whether the Bar should be going after Avvo. It’s comforting to know that, should all else fail, at least these members will have a swankier setting in which to enjoy the bar’s own free legal resources.

1) FREDRICK GOINGS

Fredrick Goings of Chicago, IL tops this month’s list.  Goings was arrested after being accused of shooting to death his girlfriend, Nova Henry, and her infant.  Nova Henry is the former girlfriend of NBA star, Eddy Curry.

2) MARILYN SMITH

Marilyn Smith of Seattle, WA.

3) OKORIE OKOROCHA

Okorie Okorocha of Los Angeles, CA made this month’s list again thanks to his active participation on Avvo.

4) WILLIAM HEAD

William Head of Atlanta, GA once again made this month’s list thanks to his active participation on Avvo.

5) ALAN BRINKMEIER

Alan Brinkmeier of Chicago, IL made this month’s list thanks to his active participation on Avvo.

6) GARY FURLONG

Gary Furlong of Seattle, WA.

7) TAMARA CROSS

Tamara Cross of San Diego, CA.

8 ) ROBERT MILLER

Robert Miller of Palm Desert, CA made this month’s list thanks to his active participation on Avvo.

9) JOHN KAMAN

John Kaman of San Francisco, CA made this month’s list thanks to his active participation on Avvo.

10) LAWRENCE HULMAN

Lawrence Shulman of Southfield, MI made this month’s list thanks to his active participation on Avvo.

Doctors making patients sign “gag orders” prohibiting them from commenting in online forums? Jeffrey Segal, a North Carolina neurosurgeon and CEO of the fancifully-named “Medical Justice”, provides such a waiver agreement for doctors to use in an attempt to clamp down on their patients’ first amendment rights. According to the AP, some doctors are turning to this kind of ham-handed approach in an effort to keep their patients from posting comments on review sites. Does anyone think they’re concerned about positive comments?

Trying to use waivers like this is wrong, for so many reasons. For starters, these agreements are highly unlikely to be enforced. Most medical agreements are contracts of adhesion, and must meet standards of reasonableness. A court isn’t likely to find that someone who is signing an agreement in order to receive medical care expects to waive away their first amendment rights.

So, if you’re going to take a legally-tenuous position, there should at least be a major upside opportunity, right? Here’s what else the doctors get: Patients who balk at signing the agreement and go elsewhere. Patients who wonder what the doctor has to hide. Ridicule and scorn from the community and press should they ever venture into a public forum and attempt to enforce one of these gag orders.

Look, the train has left the station when it comes to online information. Consumers increasingly value client and user reviews, whether they’re buying a vacuum, hiring a bankruptcy lawyer or looking for a dermatologist. They understand the limits of reviews, and how to balance user feedback against other data points such as years of practice, accreditations, industry leadership and disciplinary history. Desperate attempts to silence online voices are going to end badly for those doctors who use these gag orders. Here’s a suggestion – try better bedside manner, encourage happy patients to post reviews, and thicken your skin and accept the fact that a few unhappy ones will post something you don’t like.

California Lawyer magazine has an article in the current issue comparing Avvo’s law school rankings to those of US News & World Report, Vault.com and Professor Brian Leiter. I’ve written before about how Avvo’s rankings – although based on factors more relevant to professional success than academic environment – turn out to be quite similar to those of US News. Implications? As David Lat (founder of Above the Law) notes in the article, the fact that Avvo’s law school rankings also feature “elite” law schools near the top tends to counter claims that the best law schools “don’t necessarily produce the best lawyers.”

I am proud to announce that Avvo has launched in the esteemed states of Louisiana, Indiana, Kansas, Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada, Maine and Wyoming. These states will have full Avvo functionality with one twist: We are launching our *directory* in each of these states in “beta” form.

What is a beta directory?

Well, a beta launch is essentially a test launch. All of the directory features are there, but you will not find every lawyer like in other states. While we will have all of the lawyers in these states at some point, we decided to release each directory early so that it could satisfy the demand for Avvo Answers and Legal Guides in those states.

For example, a search for the term “Indiana” in Avvo Answers already serves 495 questions. With similar stories in the other states, it is important that we get our products in the hands of needy consumers. Also, by formally releasing the product in these states, more lawyers will join the marketplace and make it all the more robust.

If you are a lawyer in any of these states and would like to claim your Avvo Profile, simply follow this link, search for your name, and if you are not yet in our database click on the “Add your profile to Avvo!” link. We can have you signed up in no time.

To all of the lawyers in our new states, I offer my welcome to Avvo. It is a great place to build a great practice.

Onward!

Mark

This is a guest blog post from Long Island Attorney, Jeena Belil, who I have had the pleasure of meeting through Twitter, email and occasionally over the phone. She was also one of the early adopters integrating Avvo Answers into her law practice’s website. The post recounts her transition from large in house attorney to solo practitioner and provides a real life example of how Avvo has impacted an attorney’s marketing efforts.

For twelve years, I was employed as an attorney defending insurance companies against claims made by their insureds. I handled a case load, managed a staff counsel law office and was personally responsible for implementing legal strategies in connection with litigation, arbitration and trials. My work for these companies boiled down to achieving the overall goal set by the insurance carrier: my job was to help maintain the corporate bottom-line.
Most recently, I was managing counsel for an insurance company based on Long Island. I had a lofty title and my name was engraved on a plaque in the lobby. By the summer of 2007, I was counsel of record on over 10,000 law suits in the court houses in downstate New York. Unfortunately, during 2007, roughly half of the people employed by the insurance company were downsized. In September of 2007, the entire in-house legal department was let go. Once the dust settled, I knew that I did not want to go back in-house. I wanted to start using my experience to help injured people in my community.
I started my personal injury solo practice out of my home with spit and glue. I had a lot of things going for me: some money to start up, a business plan, budget in place and prior experience representing injured persons in auto/motorcycle and slip and fall accidents. The one major disadvantage I had was that although I was well known in the auto insurance defense community, my name was not known to the general public.
I knew that while the Yellow Pages and other types of print advertising were the traditional forms of marketing for personal injury attorneys, the ads that I found did not fit my business model or my personality. I wanted my clients to know more about me than what could be contained on a quarter page.
I found that Avvo was a great tool to assist me in achieving my marketing objectives. It is an excellent way for me to showcase my experience, speaking engagements and publications. Additionally, I have found the “Track Record” platform is an effective way to demonstrate to consumers my ability to personally litigate their cases.
It’s important for lawyers, especially solos, to realize that the traditional methods of getting your name out to the public can be expensive, redundant and ineffective. The Web is here and it’s easier then you think to embrace the technology. A web marketing vehicle like Avvo makes it simple to set yourself apart from the herd.
Avvo will continue to be a big part of my marketing plan in 2009 and beyond.