IBA – Rate my lawyer (First published on The Law Society Gazette website)

16th September 2013

Click here to see this article on the The Law Society Gazette website.

Sadly I am not going to Boston, so wish I could be a fly on the wall in this debate between The Law Society and the Association of Danish Law Firms. 

‘User generated reviews’, the technical marketing term for such activities, are loved and loathed in all sectors where they are used.  Understandably they are loved by those that benefit from complimentary reviews and loathed by those that do not. 

One of the reasons that there is such a plethora of directories in the legal profession is that most lawyers enjoy receiving some public credit and recognition in this way. 

So whilst lawyers have been able to bathe in the glow of these positive testimonials for many years, now there is also an outlet for those clients who have had less positive experiences.  Is this not fair? 

How many lawyers use TripAdvisor when planning their travels? I certainly appreciate the warnings to avoid noisy locations and poor service as much as I appreciate the recommendations.  Why should potential purchasers of legal services be denied access to a range of client views?

We know from mystery shopping a range of legal services that not all client experiences are beautifully smooth.  But, unless you have an effective mechanism for monitoring client service and identifying where things go wrong, then you run the risk of repeating the same mistakes. 

Whilst not without their faults, user-generated reviews of law firms, lawyers and legal services appear to be here to stay. 

Rather than railing against the inevitable, perhaps it would be more productive to admit that there might be room for improvement in the way that legal service are provided.  Scarce resources may be better spent in testing the client experience, reviewing satisfaction surveys and monitoring such websites to ensure that positive experiences outweigh any negative ones. 

It could be worse.  A business which allows patients to rate their doctor has just received VC funding – at least a solicitor’s clients will not be able to comment on their bedside manner!