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nswers to your Questions
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What is the purpose of this site?
This site was created to help consumers find the best lawyers by sharing information and ratings, and to give people a "scorecard" on how they are doing. It's part of the Ratingz Network, which is dedicated to helping consumers make smart choices.
How much does this website cost me?
Nothing! The site is free to use.
How do I rate a lawyer?
We've tried to make this site as easy to use as possible. You can select lawyers by picking your main category from the drop-down list on the front page. You'll then see a list of cities; just click on your city name to bring up the list of lawyers. If your lawyer is already listed, click on the name and rate them. If your lawyer is not yet listed, you can add it and rate.
Why can't I see all the ratings for a lawyer?
This website uses a lot of bandwidth, and bandwidth costs money. In order to reduce our server costs, we've limited the number of ratings you can see to the 10 most recent.
Do I have to give you my name or email address?
You are not required to log in or enter your name or email address.
I've seen 'Want to login or Create an account?'. What's that all about?
NO ONE has to have an account to use the site, but creating an account will allow you to track and edit your ratings. After your account is created, you can login to it. We get quite a few emails from people who made a mistake in rating a lawyer and want us to change them. WE don't change someone's rating. We can delete the entire rating or delete the comment, but we won't change them. This option gives the user a way to make sure their ratings are correct. We have a lot of changes planned. Some of them will be for members only, so if you want to use the site to its fullest, be sure and create an account.
How do the scores work?
All categories are based on a 5 point rating system, with 5 being the best. The Overall Quality rating is the average of the ratings, and is what determines the type of "smiley face" that the lawyer receives. Please look here for more information on the rating categories.
Some of my comments got deleted. What comments are OK?
Comments should be objective and specific. Every new rating is reviewed, and we reserve the right to delete comments OR an entire rating.
I tried rating a lawyer and the system said it was restricted. What does that mean?
When we detect any strange rating activity for a lawyer, we restrict that lawyer's ratings for some period of time. While restricted, the lawyer can only be rated by logged-in users, so just create a free account and login to submit a rating.
I think I would like to be an administrator. What do they do and how do I sign up?
The volunteer Admins review the ratings on a daily basis. This means reviewing, accepting, deleting - everything about the ratings. They also accept new lawyer listings and make corrections (such as names) for existing lawyers. They become part of the Ratingz staff and work with the site owners and operators. To become an Admin, you must have a LawyerRatingz account. You can create an account from the link on your city's page. After you have created your account, click on the 'Want to be an admin?' link and send us an email with your account email and city. If you don't see this link on your city's page, it means we are not currently recruiting Admins in your area (sorry!).
Who can rate lawyers?
We prefer that you only rate lawyers you have first-hand knowledge of. However, it is not possible for us to verify which raters have knowledge of which lawyers, so always take the ratings with a grain of salt. Remember, we have no way of knowing who is doing the rating - customers, people in the lawyer industry, regular people, dogs, cats, etc.
How soon are my ratings posted?
Immediately!
What if I see an error with a lawyer, like if the name is spelled wrong or even if it isn't a real lawyer?
After you click on a lawyer, you will see 'Report error with this listing' at the top of the page. Just click on that link and tell us what is wrong.
What if I see a rating that I think should be reviewed again? I know you said you review all ratings, but what if you miss one that is not OK?
You are right - every now and then a bad rating gets by us. You will see a red flag associated with each rating. When you click on that flag, the rating is sent back to us to review again. If it should not have been accepted, we will handle it. If the rating is OK, we just approve it again. If the rating is flagged, and then re-approved, the flag disappears for that rating.
What do people associated with lawyers think of this site?
Well, that depends on the lawyer!! We get a lot of emails from people telling us they like the site, and we've even had some telling us how the site has helped them. We also get some pretty hateful emails telling us how inappropriate the site is, how they are going to shut us down, etc.
Don't people use this site just to flame? Aren't most of the ratings negative?
Absolutely not. You might be surprised to learn over 65% of the ratings are positive.
What is your privacy policy?
You can view our Privacy Policy here, but the main thing is: we will never give out any identifying information on a rater without a court order (which has never happened) unless there is a threat of physical violence in the comment.
I know a business that I think would like to advertise on the site. Are you interested?
Of course! Contact us and we will discuss our rates for banner ads and sponsorship opportunities.
Who are you and why do you have this site?
We are just common, ordinary people who believe that the CUSTOMERS have a right to voice their opinions.
I'm having trouble logging into my member's page and/or adding ratings. What should I do?
LawyerRatingz.com uses cookies for its login process, so please make sure your browser has cookies enabled. If you are using Internet Explorer, click Tools, then Internet Options, then Privacy, and make sure the vertical slider is on Medium High or lower. Then restart your browser.
Do you have a flyer I can post?
Sure do, right here.
My lawyer doesn't have many ratings. How can I get more people to enter ratings?
The best thing you can do is to tell people about this site! You can post flyers, post links to us on your website, and email your customer list about the site.
Are the ratings statistically valid?
Not really. They are a listing of opinions and should be judged as such. However, we often receive emails stating that the ratings are uncannily accurate, especially for lawyers with over 10 ratings.
How do I get a lawyer removed from your site?
The short answer is, you don't. The longer answer is that this site is for consumers and they are rating you every day, whether or not you are listed on this site. Think of this site as an opportunity to hear what your customers normally keep secret from you.
How about I sue your website?
Before you do, consider this information we received from the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
It sounds as though you're familiar with 47 USC Section 230, the federal law that permits many entities to "host" other people's content without being liable for defamation/libel etc. "By its plain language, Section 230 creates a federal immunity to any cause of action that would make service providers liable for information originating with a third-party user of the service." Zeran v. AOL, 129 F.3d 327, 330 (4th Cir. 1997).
You ask -- does this change when we delete inappropriate comments?
NO. You are still protected as long as you do so in good faith. Under 230(c)(2)(A),
``(2) Civil liability.--No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be held liable on account of-- ``(A) any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access to or availability of material that the provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected;
Further: The Supreme Court of the United States has held that anonymity of speech is protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution (see McIntyre v. Ohio, 514 U.S. at 337; Talley v. State of California, 362 U.S. 60). United States courts also have consistently recognized that the right to speak anonymously extends to speech on the Internet.
A few more links you should probably check out before trying to sue:
Anti-SLAPP Law
Profs get hit with anti-SLAPP payments for suing website
The ratings don't accurately reflect what people think of my lawyer.
If you really believe the ratings are not fair and representative, ask your customers to visit our website and rate you.
Do you have a banner I can use to link to your site?
Sure do
You guys didn't answer my question. How can I contact you?
Email us here. We read every email and respond to most of them. (No, we don't respond to threats - although they may be forwarded to the appropriate authorities.)
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