Technology in Marketing: Building Consumer Clientele Through Web 2.0 Site Avvo

[Editor's Note: This month we are again privileged to have a guest columnist. Shelly Crocker is a founding member and managing partner of Crocker Kuno LLC, a firm based in Seattle, WA. Shelly presents a case study on how one Web offering is increasing business development opportunities at her firm. Our regular columnist, Nancy Manzo, will return in July.]

Law is known to be a conservative field, in the traditional sense of the word, meaning slow to change. Lawyers do adopt new technologies when they feel confident they will improve their practices, but have adapted to new marketing technologies somewhat more slowly. Thus, many law firms have published Web pages, but many others have not yet harnessed the power of the Internet to pursue new marketing opportunities, and still continue to rely on legal directories like Martindale Hubbell.

Potential clients rely on referrals from friends and family or yellow pages ads to find attorneys, and most individual or small business clients lack access to resources to go about finding a suitable lawyer. Although in recent years it has become fashionable for certain lifestyle magazines to include a feature on top lawyers, only some lawyers can be included and the geographic scope is limited. Martindale Hubbell's peer review rating system may be meaningful to other attorneys or corporate counsel, but the average consumer of legal services is unlikely to be persuaded by the arcane system of letter grades even if they know it exists.

A New Web Offering

A new Web offering in Seattle is working to change that dynamic. Launched in June 2007, Avvo (www.avvo.com) is a Web site designed for consumers of legal services. Staffed largely by technology professionals and lawyers from Microsoft and Expedia, Avvo is a sophisticated Web 2.0 site that employs a complex and confidential algorithm to rate attorneys on a scale of 1.0-10.0. Beginning with data obtained from public records consisting largely of disciplinary histories, and supplementing that data with information obtained from lawyer Web sites or supplied by lawyers themselves, Avvo assigns ratings and collects endorsements from peers and clients. Visitors to Avvo can search for a lawyer by geographic area and practice area, or by name.

For lawyers, Avvo provides a free online marketing outlet with rich content. Once an attorney claims his or her profile, he can populate the site with information about his work history, awards, involvement in professional and civic associations, speaking and publishing credits, fees charged, and even a personal message. There is a space to upload a photo, and a map of the location of the lawyer's office. Links are provided to e-mail the lawyer directly, or to view the lawyer's own Web site. Pages have also been created for fellow attorneys or clients to endorse or rate the attorney. The information is clearly presented, and is consistent from profile to profile, making it easy to compare one lawyer to another.

Crocker Kuno is a boutique Seattle law firm with an insolvency practice assisting financially troubled companies, both debtors and creditors. We have a subsidiary law firm, Resolve Legal, which serves only consumer debtor clients seeking bankruptcy assistance or related legal services. An article featuring Avvo's launch in a local newspaper introduced lawyers at Crocker Kuno to the Web site, and every attorney at the firm claimed his or her profile within the first few days. Fortunately, attorneys at Crocker Kuno have credentials recognized by Avvo's algorithm, and four of the five received ratings of 10.0. With the significant press surrounding the launch, clients searching for lawyers evidently utilized the Avvo site, and Crocker Kuno received several inquiries resulting in new clients in the first month of Avvo's online presence. Additionally, Crocker Kuno quickly added links
to attorneys' Avvo profiles, encouraging potential clients to investigate our ratings.

Avvo Answers was added recently to provide a forum for potential consumers of legal services to seek advice over the Internet. It probably goes without saying that offering free legal advice in a public forum when no attorney-client relationship has been formed makes many lawyers uncomfortable. However, many of the questions posted are general in nature, and do not require specific legal advice. Often, consumers apparently need guidance about where to begin, and are obviously in distress with nowhere to turn. The answers posted by lawyers are replete with examples of professionalism and compassion. Thus far, the community of attorneys regularly providing answers online is relatively small, but it will certainly grow as more lawyers understand the power of social networking in establishing credibility with potential clients.

By regularly contributing to Avvo Answers, Crocker Kuno has recently seen a marked increase in potential client inquiries originating at Avvo. Our experience in advising and representing consumer debtors has given us the practical and common sense background so often sought on Avvo Answers. In February alone, approximately one-third of our new consumer client inquiries originated on Avvo.

The Bottom Line

Avvo's online presence and professional look and feel complement our existing marketing efforts. Resolve Legal currently utilizes search engine optimization to draw potential clients directly to its own Web site, and also has used radio advertising. Avvo's new Answers feature provides an additional forum for connecting with potential clients. Moreover, Avvo incorporates links to firm Web sites, and the Answers module freely permits the addition of multiple links to outside Web sites appended to the answer. This openness promotes a free exchange of information relevant to the consumer, and allows attorneys to easily market their own firm or other services. A favorable rating (and favorable placement in an Avvo search) also enhances the ability to reach potential clients. As consumers turn increasingly to the Internet to seek out service providers, Avvo's influence is likely to be widely appreciated by clients and lawyers alike.

Shelly Crocker is a founding member and managing partner of Crocker Kuno LLC. She practices in the areas of reorganizatio, insolvency, and bankruptcy issues. E-mail: [email protected].

[Editor's Note: This month we are again privileged to have a guest columnist. Shelly Crocker is a founding member and managing partner of Crocker Kuno LLC, a firm based in Seattle, WA. Shelly presents a case study on how one Web offering is increasing business development opportunities at her firm. Our regular columnist, Nancy Manzo, will return in July.]

Law is known to be a conservative field, in the traditional sense of the word, meaning slow to change. Lawyers do adopt new technologies when they feel confident they will improve their practices, but have adapted to new marketing technologies somewhat more slowly. Thus, many law firms have published Web pages, but many others have not yet harnessed the power of the Internet to pursue new marketing opportunities, and still continue to rely on legal directories like Martindale Hubbell.

Potential clients rely on referrals from friends and family or yellow pages ads to find attorneys, and most individual or small business clients lack access to resources to go about finding a suitable lawyer. Although in recent years it has become fashionable for certain lifestyle magazines to include a feature on top lawyers, only some lawyers can be included and the geographic scope is limited. Martindale Hubbell's peer review rating system may be meaningful to other attorneys or corporate counsel, but the average consumer of legal services is unlikely to be persuaded by the arcane system of letter grades even if they know it exists.

A New Web Offering

A new Web offering in Seattle is working to change that dynamic. Launched in June 2007, Avvo (www.avvo.com) is a Web site designed for consumers of legal services. Staffed largely by technology professionals and lawyers from Microsoft and Expedia, Avvo is a sophisticated Web 2.0 site that employs a complex and confidential algorithm to rate attorneys on a scale of 1.0-10.0. Beginning with data obtained from public records consisting largely of disciplinary histories, and supplementing that data with information obtained from lawyer Web sites or supplied by lawyers themselves, Avvo assigns ratings and collects endorsements from peers and clients. Visitors to Avvo can search for a lawyer by geographic area and practice area, or by name.

For lawyers, Avvo provides a free online marketing outlet with rich content. Once an attorney claims his or her profile, he can populate the site with information about his work history, awards, involvement in professional and civic associations, speaking and publishing credits, fees charged, and even a personal message. There is a space to upload a photo, and a map of the location of the lawyer's office. Links are provided to e-mail the lawyer directly, or to view the lawyer's own Web site. Pages have also been created for fellow attorneys or clients to endorse or rate the attorney. The information is clearly presented, and is consistent from profile to profile, making it easy to compare one lawyer to another.

Crocker Kuno is a boutique Seattle law firm with an insolvency practice assisting financially troubled companies, both debtors and creditors. We have a subsidiary law firm, Resolve Legal, which serves only consumer debtor clients seeking bankruptcy assistance or related legal services. An article featuring Avvo's launch in a local newspaper introduced lawyers at Crocker Kuno to the Web site, and every attorney at the firm claimed his or her profile within the first few days. Fortunately, attorneys at Crocker Kuno have credentials recognized by Avvo's algorithm, and four of the five received ratings of 10.0. With the significant press surrounding the launch, clients searching for lawyers evidently utilized the Avvo site, and Crocker Kuno received several inquiries resulting in new clients in the first month of Avvo's online presence. Additionally, Crocker Kuno quickly added links
to attorneys' Avvo profiles, encouraging potential clients to investigate our ratings.

Avvo Answers was added recently to provide a forum for potential consumers of legal services to seek advice over the Internet. It probably goes without saying that offering free legal advice in a public forum when no attorney-client relationship has been formed makes many lawyers uncomfortable. However, many of the questions posted are general in nature, and do not require specific legal advice. Often, consumers apparently need guidance about where to begin, and are obviously in distress with nowhere to turn. The answers posted by lawyers are replete with examples of professionalism and compassion. Thus far, the community of attorneys regularly providing answers online is relatively small, but it will certainly grow as more lawyers understand the power of social networking in establishing credibility with potential clients.

By regularly contributing to Avvo Answers, Crocker Kuno has recently seen a marked increase in potential client inquiries originating at Avvo. Our experience in advising and representing consumer debtors has given us the practical and common sense background so often sought on Avvo Answers. In February alone, approximately one-third of our new consumer client inquiries originated on Avvo.

The Bottom Line

Avvo's online presence and professional look and feel complement our existing marketing efforts. Resolve Legal currently utilizes search engine optimization to draw potential clients directly to its own Web site, and also has used radio advertising. Avvo's new Answers feature provides an additional forum for connecting with potential clients. Moreover, Avvo incorporates links to firm Web sites, and the Answers module freely permits the addition of multiple links to outside Web sites appended to the answer. This openness promotes a free exchange of information relevant to the consumer, and allows attorneys to easily market their own firm or other services. A favorable rating (and favorable placement in an Avvo search) also enhances the ability to reach potential clients. As consumers turn increasingly to the Internet to seek out service providers, Avvo's influence is likely to be widely appreciated by clients and lawyers alike.

Shelly Crocker is a founding member and managing partner of Crocker Kuno LLC. She practices in the areas of reorganizatio, insolvency, and bankruptcy issues. E-mail: [email protected].