On page 18 of this week’s Newsweek, there is an article titled “An Algorithm for Mr. Right“, covering the online dating service, eHarmony. The site’s 20 million users complete a detailed 256 question survey, “then, with the help of a complex algorithm, it matches people with much in common.” Sounds familiar.

We’ve often fielded (heated) critique that boils down to: “an algorithm is not the way to choose an attorney.” True, it should never be the only tool someone uses to choose an attorney. But, can an algorithm serve as a great starting point to help narrow down the immense potential field to a useful shortlist based on an individual’s specific requirements, just like our friends over at eHarmony? Absolutely.

According to eHarmony, every day 236 of their users get married – not always to the number one on the match list and presumably after six coffees, three movies and one long walk on the beach.

In 1958, President Eisenhower established “Law Day” on May 1, to encourage “respect for the law that is vital to the democratic way of life.”
36 U.S.C. § 113

This is a great rating of first year lawyer, Aaron Engle:

“Mr. Engle, along with his partners, recently represented me in a disability case. I used to work for law firms and therefore was a little concerned when Mr. Engle was assigned to my case, because I felt he was a little on the young side. I had no reason to be worried. Even before speaking with me he had not only read my case completely, he had memorized many parts of it. When I referenced one letter out of the 2400 pages we had, he knew exactly what one I was referring to and was able to put his hands on it within a minute or two. Whenever I called his office and left a message, he got back to me promptly, usually within a couple of hours. This is very rare in the legal world. Whenever I had a question, he answered honestly and completely and made sure I understood his answer before moving on to more questions. He kept me informed and up to date . . .” continue reading.

Live from Seattle, it’s Lawyerpalooza. Tonight there are more lawyers packed into the famous Showbox on first and Pike to hear five lawyer bands in the sixth annual Lawyerpalooza. Right now I’m listening to a reasonably good cover of Dance to the Music by No Rules from Karr Tuttle Campbell. Proceeds go to support music in pulic schools.

Update: The Crowd Favorite from Robert Half just got slammed by the judges. And while I may agree with the judges’ comments that they were great only half of the time, the female vocalist was outstanding.

Update II: Last year’s winner from Perkins Coie is currently on stage. One of our younger Avvo team members just mentioned, “It’s so cool, they are playing their own music.” Apparently, she’s never heard of the Beatles - love the generation gap. Another female staffer, who will remain nameless, just admitted to having a huge crush on the guitarist in the red tie. “He’s so hot,” she said. “I love that he looks like he should be driving a Mercedes and grumbling about traffic, but instead he’s up there bringing down the house.”

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There have been more than 1 million views of lawyer profiles on Avvo since we launched less than a year ago. And while Avvo is free to every lawyer, some attorneys have figured out how to set themselves apart from the rest and the payoff is more clients. True to our promise of treating every lawyer equally, we'd like to share these best practices with anyone who wants to optimize their presence on Avvo. On April 29th we'll be hosting a free online webinar (an online presentation combined with an audio conference). Mark and I will host, and it will be a very practical look at how to make the most of your presence on Avvo. We'll also share some of the research we've done with consumers to help you understand what they are looking for when searching for a lawyer. You'll also have an opportunity to ask me and Mark questions. Some of the topics we'll cover include:

-What factors influence a consumer's decision to hire a lawyer
-What does (and doesn't) influence the Avvo Rating
-How to optimize your Avvo Profile for search engines
-How your profile can help you connect on a personal level with potential clients
-How to demonstrate your expertise in specific areas of the law
-How to be the first attorney to interact with a potential client
-A look at recently released features such as “My Profile” and “About Me”
-An update on soon-to-be-released features

The webinar is free and will take place on Tuesday, April 29th from 12pm to 1pm Pacific time.

To register, simply click here.

Another great day for Avvo: Today we launched “About Me,” a new tab on the Avvo Profile that allows lawyers to add pictures, video and just about anything else that suits their fancy.

Why the new tab? A number of lawyers told us that their personal story, which is often relevant to their practice, is not sufficiently told by the Avvo Profile’s structured fields. Trying to remedy this was tough because everyone’s personal story is different. So we decided to abondon structure and make “About Me” a free-form forum. Whether you want to promote your zest for rock-climbing, speak to your involvement in your church, or profess your love for the duckbilled platypus, “About Me” is for you.

Another request from the lawyer community has been an Avvo page for photos and videos. Many lawyers have impressive advertisements or videos relating to big cases they want to share. Others want to show photos of their offices, staff, families, cats and so on. Well, my fellow lawyers, pine no more — you can add an unlimited number of photos and videos to your “About Me” tab, and you don’t even need to upload them to the Avvo server. You can link to your videos on YouTube or anyplace else, and for photos you have the option of uploading or linking to them. It is almost too easy.

So, lawyers, be free . . . upload as much content as you like to your “About Me” tab as often as you like. Tell us (and your prospective clients) what really makes you tick. And, if you have suggestions on how to improve “About Me,” please let us know. As with all things Avvo, we will forever continue to refine this feature.

I am reminded of the old joke, “Enough about me, what do YOU think about me.”

Mark

We all known that the most effective approach to finding an attorney is via personal endorsements. I found this outstanding post on Lovers on Bazaarblog (the guys that used to power our consumer feedback technology) that really explains why shared client feedback is so important in the Lawyer selection process.

I couldn’t help stop and stare at this Personal Injury Advertisement from Davis Smith and Ted Liggett in Lubock Texas. A picture is worth a thousand words - - - I’ll let you be the judge:

Oddly, I always find pro-Avvo articles to be incredibly well-written. Through that lens, here is an article that is INCREDIBLY well written. Entitled “Disrupting the Lawyer Ratings Paradigm,” the article is on Law.com and written by Joe Campos of Stanislaw Ashbaugh. Joe writes:

What makes Avvo a truly unique concept, however, is its ability to create a dynamic and interactive community of lawyers, clients and prospective clients. . . .

A collection of hardbound volumes cannot generate the sort of interactivity and real-world information about lawyers and law firms that is experienced, contributed and compiled on Avvo every day. Information about lawyers is being shared by those who have first-hand experience, resulting in a searchable database of information that is accessible to prospective clients around the country and the world. If information is power, then Avvo effectively shifts the balance of power away from lawyers and law firms to clients, prospective clients and every other user of its Web site.

As you may recall, I blogged about Stanislaw Ashbaugh being an innovative firm whose attorneys, without urging or compensation from Avvo, had all claimed their Avvo Profiles and put Avvo Badges on their website. Further enhancing his and his firm’s web presence, Joe Campos launched the blog DigitalMediaLawyer.com. Suffice it to say that these guys “get it,” and I am honored to have them waxing poetically regarding the “paradigm shift” we know as Avvo.

Also interesting is the amount of attention that Joe’s article has received. After Joe’s article hit the web, I received roughly 10 Google Alerts regarding other websites/blogs reporting or commenting on the article. One of them was Kevin O’Keefe, whose understanding of this space always impresses me. In his post entitled “Avvo to disrupt Martindale-Hubbell’s ratings system” he says:

The Avvo concept is here to stay. Consumers of legal services who can get online reviews on dishwashers are going to demand, through their behavior, that comments about lawyers be freely available. Whether comments come from other lawyers or clients, the information is just too valuable.

Martindale-Hubbell has been suppressing this concept for years. They want a monopoly on lawyer ratings. Money to made there. Plus when you’re charging law firms 10’s and 100’s of thousands of dollars to display their lawyers in a directory, you don’t want law firm customers walking when they don’t like what another lawyer or consumer has said.

Bloggers Carolyn Elefant and Scott Greenfield* also offered interesting posts, although Scott’s commentary sometimes leaves me scratching my head. For instance, in his latest post he criticizes lawyers for participating in Avvo Answers and Track Record. Soon he will be railing against pro bono work and rescuing homeless kittens.

Finally, the attention that Joe’s article received reminded me of how unpredictable the community voice can be. In January, the ABA Law Practice Management Section published this pro-Avvo article and no one even batted an eye. Then Joe’s article comes out and I thought my Google Alerts were malfunctioning. There is an interesting social study in all of this, or maybe Joe’s article *was* just that well written.

Mark

* Per Scott’s latest blog post, I would just like to let him know that, while I have yet to post to his blog, I love him and think of him most every day. One day I will write, but in the meantime I am swamped with trying to corrupt the legal profession by getting consumers answers to their legal questions.

An attorney recently forwarded us an email from Martindale Hubbell announcing a new feature: their Peer Review Ratings Icon. Seems like MH is again taking a page from the Avvo playbook: back in September, Avvo launched the Avvo Badge, which enables attorneys to display their dynamically updating Avvo Rating anywhere online. (Two months ago, Carolyn Elefant wrote a post on Legal Blog Watch called Martindale Follows Avvo’s Lead referencing MH’s adoption of limited client reviews.)

Avvo Badge vs. Peer Review Ratings Icon Faceoff . . . I’ll let you be the judge but remember these salient points:

-It costs $50 to be “considered” for Martindale’s A/V rating. Avvo charges you nothing.
-The Peer Review Ratings Icon is available “for the low cost of $200″ annually. Avvo charges you nothing.
-Most people think A/V is the closet in high school where they used to keep the overhead projectors. Most consumers understand a 1-10 scale.

To get the Avvo Rating on your site, simply navigate to your profile, click on “Display Avvo Rating on Your Website” and cut and paste.