Avvo

Dear Avvo, based on your bogus testimonials, my sick, elderly mother hired a lawyer to defend me that literally handed my head to the prosecution. These were charges that were easily dismissed or at the very least, reduced. I had to plead guilty to 3 felonies in order to get out of jail to continue caring for mother. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I'd mention the lawyer's name but am sure you would not post this, also, i don't feel like getting sued for slander, although i have the facts in writing to back my claim. I can, however, tell everyone i know on facebook about your despicable practice because that is NOT slander!

Attorney marketing is a complete rip off. Their sales staff promise leads and acts very optimistic when convincing you to sign on. I have received ZERO leads since signing a six month contract that they refuse to cancel.

Avvo.com has predatory practices. They will sucker you into a contract that sounds to good to be true and then, when you try to cancel, they will let you know that you'll continue being billed. If you are an attorney looking at marketing opportunities, RUN AWAY.

Oh, an by the way, if you do advertise with them, don't expect any good clients out of it. After 3 months I didn't get once single legitimate contact.

I am not some lawyer from the back of a bus, but an in-house lawyer without any skin in the game, so my sole purpose in asking that my personal information be removed is to deter stalking. But apparently, Avvo will only act on court order. So crossing my fingers that I don't get killed by my ex! LOL. Avvo, Martindale, and Internet Brands... you are unethical. (I can't imagine the poor souls who think that this is a way to find or legitimately rate lawyers! Just go to the lawyer's state bar site.)

I strongly recommend attorney Adam Graves for anyone who needs a legal help. He is highly compassionate, helpful and attentive to my legal information needs. He has been very quick to respond to my inquiries and provided advice and counsel. My entire experience with Mr. Adam Graves and his paralegal (Tanya) has been very pleasant. Everything has been done in a timely manner and very thorough. Many attorneys do not respond or keep regular business hours. Mr. Adam Graves has been responsive over the weekends and sometimes even late at night. In short, I have never seen an attorney so hard, efficient, and friendly.

I'm surprised at the number of negative reviews from both potential clients and attorneys. I have used Avvo on numerous occasions to research legal issues which have come to light. For that I am thankful. I also research state law, etc concerning my issues. Because I am researching, I do feel Avvo is helpful. Yes, some attorney responses (Definitely not All) are assumptive and disrespectful. But I believe that is indicative of the Hubris which surrounds the Legal industry. There is always an area to respond to their comments.

That being said, I, as a potential client, do benefit from Avvo-as the responses help me to interpret the law- or opinion of the law. However, as an Attorney enlisting Avvo services, if I did not receive clients initiated by Avvo, I would be concerned. If an Attorney is not receiving clients, it could be due to rudeness. It also could be due to people, like me, who cannot afford more than the free consultation, and are trying to determine if they have any legal premise to spend discretionary income on a proposed injustice (of which there are many, enforceable if you have money)

I think the issue is, to whom does Avvo want to market?

Here's why Avvo rejected my review of my lawyer:

Make it clear in your review that you were a client of this attorney.
Plainly state what you did or did not like about the attorney's services.
Refrain from making personal attacks, insulting comments, or accusations.
Try to be as objective as possible.

Here was my review:
Checked I was a client box.
Said that he had poor communication skills and actually missed one court event.
Said I would not hire him again.
Said his office help was "chippy."

Avvo wants attorneys to PAY them for "advertising" and directory listings, however at the very same time, they allow anonymous reviews with no recourse. As has been proven time and time again, the vast majority of negative reviews are either from competitors or disgruntled ex-employees. It's amazing to me that attorneys continue to pay this company when they do such a complete disservice to the industry. The proper place for consumer complaints is each individual bar association. Shameful and unethical.

Hired the worst attorney I've ever met based on glowing Avvo reviews. Truth is, after I had to fire Denver defense attorney Michael Root for ineffective assistance of counsel, I tried to post a factual review based on the record of the Court, his written correspondences to me, the evidence and the law. NOPE. Not gonna happen on avvo. They refuse all negative reviews. I got screwed because of Avvo. Stay Away! Don't let their fictitious portrayals of every lawyer, no matter how bad, ruin your life.

This business wants you to water down the truth about an Attorney. No matter how many times you change it, you will keep getting an auto email stating your comment is not approved. I asked one of the individuals working in AVVO chat to give me an example of a negative complaint so I could use it as a basis. They never did. I modified my comment over six times with continuous kick back. The bottom line do not waste your time or energy. I would just go to the State Bar in your area to complain or YELP. That is what I did.

All of the attorneys I got from AVVO made stupid negligent mistakes and refused to do what i asked, violating the most basic rules of conduct for any attorney. AVVO gave one of them a 10 when she was completely inexperienced and cost me a fortune. Many of them are corrupt and paid off so the site is probably manipulated with pay offs as well. Whether you have a little to lose or a lot, do not trust this site. When you write a negative review, they will not post it and if it is posted, it will soon be removed.

While I absolutely agree that the sites "ranking" of attorneys is completely bogus (read their criteria for establishing these rankings), I think it's important to note that attorneys can't just dole out legal advice based on brief fact patterns, they could potentially have ethics issues with the State Bar for doing so. They have to tell you to retain your own counsel to review your entire situation to make sure that your legal situation is handled properly. Not to mention that it is impossible to just give a "this is how you do it" answer as no two situations are the same or should be handled the same.

Many excellent attorneys do not pay for "Avvo Pro", so do not have "10" ratings because of this. Please make sure you call several attorneys and speak to them directly before deciding who to hire (yes, call the non-10 rated attorneys too!). Basing your hiring decision on a ridiculous paid-for scoring system is ridiculous.

Avvo did not allow me to review Debra Bland Koenig for absolutely no reason. There are other reviews for lawyers that are similar to my but mine was denied. Do not hire Debra Bland Koenig. She will take your money then will not communicate with you in person, via email or telephone. She is rude as is her staff. I paid her $2500 for grandparents rights and she has yet to obtain them and has allowed unethical behavior in her practice. I am a retired and still hardworking American who deserves to get what I paid for per our contract and that hasn't happened.

I wrote an honest, critical review of an attorney who had caused me very serious financial harm and Avvo notified her, took the review down, and she sued me. We settled for very little, but the terms indicate that I am not allowed to write another review (with her name) -- ever! It's sad what America has come to, what the legal community has reduced itself to, and even more so, the false advertising that this woman pays people to post on this site in order to get clients. People should be warned to avoid her -- and instead, Avvo supplies her with fresh victims.