Avvo lawyer ratings a welcome idea : New York Times

Adam Liptak, the national legal correspondent for The New York Times, though pointing out a lot of shortcomings, weighs in favorably on Avvo lawyer ratings:

…[J]ust because the site is a work in progress does not mean it should be suffocated in its infancy by thin-skinned lawyers. As it refines its methods and gathers more information, including critiques of lawyers by their clients, Avvo could well provide an important and valuable service…….Legal publications these days are full of lists of supposedly stellar lawyers, which are a nice way to generate advertising and good feelings but perform no particular service. Avvo’s rankings at least take account of lawyers’ shortcomings [by referencing bar discipline].

In talking with Avvo’s CEO, Mark Britton, my position has been ‘good concept, poorly executed.’ Providing consumers meaningful methods to select lawyers is always welcome. I just wouldn’t have thrown in every lawyer in the state so as to include the the tens of thousands who do not represent consumers. Doing so makes it impossible to get accurate information on all the lawyers and invites attack from those who could never benefit from the Avvo rankings.

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