Avvo Inc

I confirmed today a request has now been sent to each department for the party below to be added to the Do Not Call List.

Avvo only permits one review of an attorney per reviewer. If you look at this attorney's profile, you will see that one of the three negative reviews you attempted to post appears. The other two were removed/not posted as they were duplicates.

Mr. [redacted],As I clarified over private email communication with you, the 3.5 star rating was posted on [redacted] by [redacted], and I that is why I was unsure what you were referring to. I have since confirmed to you that I have contacted [redacted] to request they update their content, as it is outdated. You will see that there is no mention of a numerical rating for you on Avvo.com, so your real complaint should be with [redacted]- not Avvo. I am happy to continue assisting, but again I have explained that [redacted] should be updating their content soon.

Hello [redacted], Thank you for the feedback. Our email to you clearly stated that we were just needing to hear from you before re-posting the review. This is part of the verification process. If you could simply reply to the email you received, we would be more than happy to re-post this review....

Alternatively, please email us at [email protected] from [redacted]@yahoo.com and we will be able to assist in posting of your review. Thank you, Jereme F[redacted], Avvo Legal Program Manager.

The review was re-evaluated by the team and approved for posting.
 
This matter is closed.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: I do not authorize Avvo to use my personal information to advertise their services.Sincerely,[redacted]

Our advertising terms require 30 days notice of cancellation. June will be the last month this advertiser is charged for.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: I am disappointed in lack of interest in creating an accurate rating for attorneys and the public. Rather than wait to make the rating until adequate information is gathered AVVO seems to impose on the attorney a new job to provide them with even a minimal amount of information to establish a fair rating . eg "...every attorney is going to know best the details of their own background".
Also they say they checked with the state. If they had they would see I am a Certified Specialist. This reflects competence to a high degree according to the state of California. I doubt this was done.
When the response says:"...provide consumers with more information about the often-opaque legal industry", it sounds like boiler plate language without any interest in establishing an accurate rating for the public. I would suggest a little effort be made and time taken to gather complete information to provide to the public.
 
A high level of integrity on the part of AVVO. would require either no rating or sufficient effort to gather information on their own before rating anybody. If their going to impose upon the attorney a job to provide information to be used for a rating then AVVO should not make a rating for the public until they have all the relevant information.
No phone call no further effort by AVVO. just a boilerplate response. This is a surprise. Sincerely,[redacted]

Thanks for the feedback. Avvo is an online directory of licensed lawyers in the US. The Avvo Rating is based only on the information we have collected and that the attorney has provided, so we don’t recommend the Avvo Rating as the only piece of information you use to evaluate whether an...

attorney is right for you. The rating is a tool that provides a snapshot assessment of a lawyer’s background, and should be considered alongside other information such as client reviews and peer endorsements. Thank you for posting a client review on Avvo. We are writing to inform you that the attorney has disputed some of the information in your review. We have not disclosed your identity or contact information, but we do need you to confirm that this was the attorney you hired and intended to review. Please reply to the e-mail we sent you on 2/7/17 and verify that you were a client of this lawyer. Once you have done so, you can then… • choose to have your review remain just as you wrote it, • edit your review to correct any inaccuracies or include any updates, or • delete your review completely. The option you select is entirely up to you, but please let us know if we can assist you in any way.

Hello [redacted],Thank you for reaching out. Our Community Guidelines clearly state that we will only accept client reviews from the actual client, and your submission read as "He took over $9000.00 USD from my aunt and haven't done a single thing for her...."  If your aunt would like to email...

me at [redacted]@Avvo.com, I would be more than happy to help her submit a client review. Unfortunately we cannot accept a submission from you as you state she was the client.

We're sorry about the repeated calls; we will add you to our do-not-call list. We do not remove attorney profiles from Avvo.

This consumer called in on 5/30/17 and we explained our policies and why their reviews were being denied. After speaking to us on the phone, [redacted]'s review was published and the matter is resolved.

Revdex.com:  I have resubmitted my...

deleted teview twice, before the original review finally appeared on avvo.At the time of submission of Revdex.com complaint none of my reviews regarding [redacted] were visible.Now one of the reviews appear to be posted.Therefore I find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Sincerely, [redacted]

Avvo is well within its first amendment rights to publish profiles of attorneys, and we do not seek or require permission to do so. We consider this matter closed.

Avvo's Rating: is calculated using an algorithm taking into account numerous factors in an attorney’s background. It’s akin to what you, an experienced attorney, would do if evaluating the resume of an attorney you did not know. The rating is based on information found in an attorney’s Avvo profile; the more information available, the better the assessment can be. Avvo bases profiles on state licensing and disciplinary data, and manually adds other information it finds online. Every attorney is going to know best the details of their own background. That’s why we encourage attorneys to claim their profiles and fill them out.
Avvo does offer a “rating not displayed” option.
Avvo’s goal is to give consumers more information than they’ve had before about the often-opaque legal industry.  To that end, we create profiles for every lawyer we can find records for, and we do not delete profiles.
We have not claimed this attorney signed any contract.

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because the guidelines are quite clear and do NOT require an in-person consultation as the business falsely claims. See attached avvo guidelines. The review in question did involve a consultation by email, which is stated in the review itself. The attached emails show Avvo inventing one excuse after another for not posting my negative review and their story keeps changing day by day, until they stop answering questions at all and go into hiding. The review Avvo has been blocking is posted in attachment and Revdex.com consumers can read for themselves what Avvo does not want people to see--an honest, neutral review of a bad lawyer who curses at someone contacting him. Avvo has yet to explain how one of their lawyers telling someone to "[redacted] off" meets any alleged Community Guidelines. As my complaint also clearly alleges, Avvo denies negative reviews automatically without even bothering to read them. The attachments show that my latest review was uploaded at 10:34 AM on April 22, acknowledged as received immediately by separate email (see email chain attached), claiming "We'll read your review to ensure it meets our community guidelines and notify you when it's posted -- usually within 72 hours," but then when you check the review itself, you will see it was denied ONE MINUTE after posting (i.e., 10:35 AM), so NO ONE THERE even bothered to read the review at all--just an automatic computer-programmed denial of a review given ONE STAR. Avvo ignores this part of complaint, but the evidence against them is overwhelming. On information and belief, Avvo is a scam site that blocks negative reviews in order to ensnare consumers into buying premium services from the lawyers it lists--all of whom have glowing positive ratings because bad reviews are blocked and ratings are inflated by friendly attorneys reviewing each other and patting themselves on the back. If consumers want fair reviews of Avvo, they should check out Sitejabber (see [redacted]) where other consumers say exactly the same thing as I do . . . bad reviews are blocked by Avvo without telling consumers why they are blocked, and legal ratings are inflated to entice consumers to buy premium legal services through Avvo. Sincerely, [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: This company over promises, under-delivers, and is completely predatory.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

We consider this matter closed.

We do apologize for the confusion, but a contract was signed which clarified our billing process and timeline. Our contracts state that in order to cancel the ads, we need 30-day written notice.  I also see monthly calls and emails to your office to discuss your advertising plan, but all...

of these were un-returned until this month. Please let us know if you'd like a copy of the contract that was signed by you in October 2016.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
Their algorithm is incorrect, false, and misleading. Their business practices are deceptive. The site indicates a mediocre ranking for me based on 0 responses.  They say I have claimed my profile by signing their agreement. I have not seen such agreement.  
Sincerely,[redacted]