AVVO Is Now Rating Lawyers In Mississippi

                                                         Martindale Hubell™  is probably the best known rating service and is widely used around the world.  However, a number of newcomers have joined the ranks of the rating services.  AVVO ™  is one of the newcomers.   AVVO started by rating lawyers in a limited number of states.  It is growing by several states at a time.  Last week, it notified Mississippi lawyers by email that it is now rating  in Mississippi.

AVVO is a free rating service but sells enhanced products to promote the rating.  According to AVVO, it is the world’s largest online legal directory, draws two million hits a month and generates 150,000 lawyer contacts per month.  See http://www.avvo.com/lawyer-marketing   .  The most appealing feature of AVVO is that a basic profile is free and it includes a pretty detailed resume and a photograph.  Attorneys can “claim” their basic profile for free by simply going to the AVVO website and signing up.  After you sign up and complete your background information, the AVVO site gives you a rating based upon a proprietary algorithm. 

AVVO rates attorneys on an increasing quality scale of 1 through 10.  If AVVO does not have enough background information to provide a rating, they will assign an “Attention” or “No Concern” statement on the attorney profile.  A complete explanation of the AVVO rating system can be found here: http://www.avvo.com/support/avvo_rating .  

I claimed my profile on AVVO.  The process was relatively simple and didn’t take very long.  The rating was assigned within twenty-four hours.  After claiming my profile, I took a tour through the AVVO site and searched for attorneys in other states so that I could get a feel of whether the site has been more strongly embraced by business clients or consumer clients.  My initial impression is that the current AVVO audience consists primarily of consumers rather than businesses.  However, this may change as more businesses become familiar with the AVVO brand.

A presence on the internet is a must for any lawyer.  AVVO now offers Mississippi attorneys an opportunity to enhance their web presence for free.  Claiming your AVVO “profile” is a worthwhile investment.