Thursday, July 12, 2007

Lawsuit filed over lawyer rating service

A lawsuit has been filed over the lawyer rating service I mentioned a few months ago. But as the author of this article argues, perhaps that is a good thing that will lead to more transparency and more information for people seeking a lawyer.

I know I would have trouble locating a lawyer for many things and I am a lawyer myself. Someone in the public at large must have a terrible time. It is impossible to tell a good lawyer from a bad one if you don't really know much about the law or know anyone who knows any good lawyers or who can advise you.

It will be interesting to see where this leads.

4 comments:

Erin said...

I don't know about you, but I pick my lawers based on the catchiness of their 800 number. I also like the ones that look right into the camera in their commercials, almost as though they're looking directly into my eyes, and, with an honest, concerned look on their faces, tell me they can get me a giant check from whoever did this to me.
Can your website sort by level of concern apparent in facial expressions?

DBB said...

Another good factor to consider is whether they have a yacht named the "Slip'n'fall" (a lawyer often seen advertising in Michigan actually does...)

chumly said...

Not easy finding a good lawyer. I noticed lawyers seem to be specializing. Is this true?

DBB said...

Chumly - yes, lawyers specialize. It is hard not to - many areas of the law are very complex and byzantine (probably unnecessarily so) and so if you don't spend all of your time in them you really can't effectively represent your clients in them. There are also good marketing reasons to specialize - so you can become known for handling a specific type of case well (and so then your name comes up as a referral for that type of case).

Even without formal specialization, most lawyers will not take on a case in an area they have not done before unless they are very new or are interested in branching out in that particular area. In fact, ethics rules for lawyers just about preclude taking on any case you don't already know how to do unless you consult with an attorney who does know.