Website Rates Lawyers
Avvo is a free website that rates and profiles every lawyer to help people choose the right lawyer. Avvo makes the process of selecting a lawyer easier by presenting the Avvo Rating, client ratings, attorney profiles, and a disciplinary sanction history (if any) for every attorney in the states that we cover.
Much “for or against” discussion this week by criminal law bloggers about the Avvo website. (good discussions here and here at Simple Justice)
This post isn’t a jump into that debate.
“How do people choose an attorney?” has been asked and answered. There seems to be a widespread misconception that referrals/recommendations from friends and acquaintances are how most clients choose an attorney. This is probably true in non-criminal cases such as divorce or probate, but not so much in criminal cases. (big money/white collar crime excluded)
Criminal defendants tend to hang out with other criminal defendants. The vast majority are members of the low to very low income bracket. ie., most opt for a public defender because they can’t afford to hire an attorney.
For the Average Joe or Jane, searching for and choosing a criminal defense attorney is a bigger freakin’ nightmare than anyone can imagine. My search for a good attorney finally ended (thank God and Spencer Rowley) after 8 years, and burning around $8000 to 3 piss poor attorneys.
