New Web Site for Consumers Launches - www.avvo.com
Consumers and small business have a difficult time getting solid information on lawyers they wish to retain. There is almost no data on the competence or track record of attorneys and law firms rarely publish their hourly rates. A new web site: www.avvo.com plans to cure this problem by publishing both their own ratings of lawyers, together with client and consumer comments, in a single web space. This site provides a need service in helping consumers select lawyers and law firms that meet their needs. Combining user/client generated content, together with information from other sources, this site is built on Web 2.0 concepts that will give stiff competition to other lawyer directory web sites such as www.findlaw.com and www. lawyers.com which have adopted a traditional yellow pages directory approach to lawyer listings. Adding transparency to the process of lawyer selection, will also provide competition to lawyer matching sites such as www.legalmatch.com and www. casepost.com. Avvo plans to generate revenue through advertising by monetizing the large amount of consumer traffic that will likely hit the site.
Founded by Mark Britton, an attorney for 15 years and an alumni of Expedia.com, www.avvo.com has assembled a top management team that includes, Paul Bloom, a veteran of Microsoft’s Consumer Division, and funded with $13 million in venture capital, this site promises to be a major new player in the legal web market space. According to the company's web site the name "Avvo" is short for short for avvocato, lawyer in Italian, and stems from a vacation that Mark Britton was on in Italy when the idea of a web site that would help consumers navigate the legal profession came to him.
Founded by Mark Britton, an attorney for 15 years and an alumni of Expedia.com, www.avvo.com has assembled a top management team that includes, Paul Bloom, a veteran of Microsoft’s Consumer Division, and funded with $13 million in venture capital, this site promises to be a major new player in the legal web market space. According to the company's web site the name "Avvo" is short for short for avvocato, lawyer in Italian, and stems from a vacation that Mark Britton was on in Italy when the idea of a web site that would help consumers navigate the legal profession came to him.
