It seems that Web 2.0 websites are emerging in every field, sector and industry. One of the last sectors to join the Web 2.0 euphoria is a legal sector. No matter how odd it may sound, a new law 2.0 web site Avvo.com has been launched recently.
To put it shortly, Avvo rates and profiles lawyers. Each lawyer is assigned a rank. Yes, Google comes to mind for sure. The Avvo users then can search through thousands of lawyers and choose the best one.
Avvo's ranking system is not less obscure than Google's Page Rank algorithm. However, we can still learn something about the ranking system from the Avvo's website.
The data that Avvo collects comes from multiple sources (state bar associations, court records, lawyer websites, and information lawyers provide to Avvo). Then, the data is fed into some sort of a mathematical model that calculates a score on a ten-point scale and assigns to each lawyer.
As the Avvo website claims, the ranking is unbiased, there is no favoritism (i.e. all lawyers are treated equally), the ranking is developed by legal experts and what is more important to the website users - the ranking is easy to understand.
It is no more a secret why Google has experienced a phenomenal success - Google's Page Rank is not easy (I'd say almost impossible) to manipulate. It looks like that Avvo is taking the same approach. The website claims that a single lawyer cannot adjust his/her ranking, which is good. The rank can be falsified by a lawyer by providing false data to Avvo but in this case the lawyer can lose his/her license. Therefore, there is a high likelihood that the information provided by the lawyers to Avvo will be correct.
A big difference between the Google's Page Rank and Avvo Rating is that the former is based on a strictly mathematical model and no matter how complicated the PR algorithm is, it is valid, because the inputs of the algorithm are easy to quantify (back links, keyword density checks, content relevancy, etc). The latter however is an attempt to quantify a lot of qualitative data, which is inherently tricky.
Another problem that Avvo may face and I'm sure the company will face is the legal issues with the (unhappy) lawyers. Moreover, Avvo has already been sued by a pair of Washington State attorneys on the grounds that the Avvo rating system is unfair and deceptive and thus violates the Washington Consumer Protection Act.
All in all, Avvo is an attempt to introduce a ranking system in a highly litigious community and a lost case can cost Avvo the whole game.
But more danger can come from unsatisfied users. Shall the Avvo rating system fail (e.g. a lawyer with a top rating turning out not to be that good at all), users will lose the confidence in the service and this can cause far greater damage to Avvo than a lost case to a lawyer.
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