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Survey: 'Find a Lawyer' Sites Not Rating Well
Corporate Counsel
October 30, 2009
Image:Photodisc
Nearly all Web users have used ratings Web sites of one kind or another. Maybe you've read the reader ratings of a book purchased on Amazon, or rated a hotel used in response to an online survey.
Most users see the advantage in having this information available -- but don't believe current online ratings are very reliable. Only a quarter of in-house lawyers now use online information-sharing sites to evaluate and select lawyers and law firms. What's more, in-house counsel are not yet convinced that such sites would help them hire lawyers.
These are the findings of a survey just released by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell. The company acknowledged it conducted the research to enhance and publicize its own rating service, which competes with those offered by Chambers and Avvo.
LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell hired Lightspeed Research, an independent firm, to gather the data, and the sample included 180 corporate counsel -- all of whom play a role in choosing outside legal representation. (The survey also polled attorneys in private practice as well as small business owners and consumers who hire lawyers.)
Two-thirds of the in-house lawyers said they find ratings from third parties trustworthy, as opposed to only 41 percent who found ratings from customers reliable. Corporate counsel were more likely to find value in referrals from colleagues, whether within or outside their own companies. Ditto for biographical information (including information from a firm's Web site).
What do corporate counsel want? According to the survey, they crave both numerical scores and written feedback. And they're looking for one-stop shopping: a central location where they can find lawyers' professional credentials as well as client and peer assessments.
And in-house lawyers are not migrating to online networking just yet. Only a quarter are using sites like Legal OnRamp and Martindale-Hubbell Connected.
But there's still hope. Lawyers are not known as early adopters, and half said they would consider doing so in the future.
Also See: Survey's Full Summary of Findings (pdf)
Also See: New Online Service to Rate Arbitrators
Also See: Full Listings of Martindale.com's Research Findings
