New Survey Finds that Majority of Lawyers Use Ratings But Desire More Comprehensive Information to Evaluate Counsel

A national survey of corporate counsel and private practice attorneys revealed that lawyers are heavy users of review and ratings resources, but would like to see these information services to be more comprehensive and trustworthy. Eighty-seven percent of respondents use review and ratings Web sites for personal and professional reasons, and that 86 percent of lawyers surveyed have been active on review and ratings Web sites. The results also revealed that more than 70 percent of lawyers believe a combination of both numerical scores and narrative feedback offers the most valuable type of evaluation from review and ratings Web sites.

The 2009 Online Ratings Survey was commissioned by LexisNexis^® Martindale-Hubbell^®, a leading global provider of ratings services for the legal community. The survey is the first of its kind to examine the general use, attitudes towards, and experience in using review and ratings sites among the legal community.

"The survey showed that lawyers using online ratings are looking for more, particularly within their own profession: They want a comprehensive, centralized and reliable ratings resource that they can trust,” said Alfredo Sciascia, a vice president with LexisNexis. "As we continue to enhance our Martindale-Hubbell ratings offering, our focus is on addressing the needs of today’s legal community by providing the right combination of objective numerical scores, narrative commentary, and comprehensive profiles of lawyers and law firms.”

Patterns of Usage Among Lawyers
Of the various professional and personal ratings Web sites in the market today – from travel and legal to food service and local interest – corporate counsel and private practice attorneys are heavy users of review and ratings resources:

• 87 percent of lawyers surveyed use review and ratings Web sites for a variety of personal and professional reasons including: legal needs, travel/tourism, local interest/activities, food service/restaurant, trade and medical needs.
• When engaging in activity on legal review and ratings Web sites, 67 percent of lawyers surveyed have reviewed another lawyer’s score or evaluation and 62 percent have provided feedback.

Corporate counsel and private practice attorneys alike see some advantages to using review and ratings Web sites, from customer testimonials to easy access of information. For all lawyers surveyed, the top three advantages of review and ratings Web sites are:

• Allowing customers to share their own experiences (79 percent)
• Giving viewers access to customer testimonials (77 percent)
• Showing customers’ ratings/scores (75 percent)

Meeting the Needs of Corporate Counsel and Private Practice Attorneys
Although usage of review and rating Web sites is high among lawyers, according to the survey, half of all lawyers said that current ratings and review resources are only moderately useful for informing legal-related purchasing decisions – signaling a need for improvement. Lawyers also revealed their concerns over the validity and trustworthiness of current Web sites that offer reviews and ratings of lawyers and law firms:

• 90 percent of lawyers believe current resources available to help evaluate lawyers are not comprehensive enough, provide incomplete information, and are not specific enough or objective enough.
• 60 percent of lawyers believe ratings and review Web sites can be easily biased, with another 50 percent feeling it is too easy to post "fake” reviews.
• 40 percent of lawyers claimed they cannot always trust the available information on the record of law firms and lawyers.
• 61 percent of lawyers find that ratings given by independent third-parties are the most trustworthy.

According to the survey, lawyers are looking for a comprehensive resource to evaluate lawyers and law firms:

• Over 70 percent of lawyers say that the most important factors when searching for information on lawyers and law firms are that the ratings resource be centralized, credible, and cost effective.
• Almost half of corporate counsel worry that they do not have a 360 degree view of lawyers and law firms when trying to evaluate them.
• 56 percent of corporate counsel and 41 percent of private practice attorneys say they want an online resource where they can access lawyers’ professional credentials, client and peer assessments all in one central location.

Solutions for Lawyers
While lawyers are significant users of ratings and review Web sites, less than one-third of lawyers surveyed are highly satisfied with current resources available to help evaluate lawyers and law firms.

"The results of the survey suggest that with the right combination of qualitative and quantitative content, ratings Web sites could be an even more powerful tool for lawyers, especially in today’s economy,” said Sciascia.

About the 2009 Ratings Survey
The 2009 Online Ratings Survey was commissioned by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell and conducted by Lightspeed Research, an independent research firm. The survey of 361 legal professionals was conducted online in April of 2009. Findings are available online at: http://www.martindale.com/xp/legal/News_Events/Research_Findings/research_findings.xml.

About LexisNexis
LexisNexis® (www.lexisnexis.com) is a leading global provider of content-enabled workflow solutions designed specifically for professionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accounting and academic markets. LexisNexis originally pioneered online information with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. A member of Reed Elsevier (NYSE: ENL)(NYSE: RUK) (www.reedelsevier.com), LexisNexis serves customers in more than 100 countries with 18,000 employees worldwide.