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Monday, March 09, 2009

Courts - "Web Directory Of Attorneys Upsets D.C. Bar"; Is Indiana Next?

Kim Hart reports in the Washington Post today under the heading, "Web Directory Of Attorneys Upsets D.C. Bar." The story reports that the District of Columbia Bar:

wants an online directory that compiles profiles of lawyers -- from the bar's own Web site, no less -- to cease and desist, arguing that posting information about Washington lawyers for commercial purposes violates copyright laws and privacy rights.

It's not too fond of the feature that allows consumers to rate a lawyer, either.

"This has nothing to do with obstructing access to information," said the bar's spokeswoman, Cynthia Kuhn. "It has to do with a commercial company taking this information without authorization and in some cases perpetuating misinformation" by not updating the data frequently enough.

Avvo.com, the site posting the profiles, says it's simply using public data to help consumers find lawyers and their track records.

"There's no reason why lawyer-licensing records should be treated any differently than records for any other profession," said Joshua King, general counsel for the Seattle start-up. "The bar doesn't like the fact that the information is out of its control."

The dispute is the latest in an escalating debate over how private Web sites can use public information. It also underscores the tension around a growing number of sites that allow clients to publicly critique any professional, from doctors to plumbers.

Take note of those two points, to which I would add a third:
  1. How private Web sites can use public information;
  2. Sites that allow clients to publicly critique any professional, from doctors to plumbers; and
  3. Preventing the public from accessing records, except through a search engine box.
These points have been coming up with greater frequency recently. #2, for instance, brings to mind issues facing Angie's List, an Indianapolis startup. #1 recalls the efforts of various companies to obtain access to the public court data compiled by JTAC in the counties where its Odyessy system has been installed. #3 recalls my own failed efforts a few years back to obtain bulk access to the electronic environmental settlement agreements produced by the Ind. Dept. of Environmental Management and available to the public through an online search box, tediously, one by one, if you know the parties' names. (Carl Malamud has been pressing for bulk access on the federal level.)

The ILB had an earlier entry on Avvo, last June 12th, headed "Illinois keeps list of lawyers private." It quoted the end of a story in the Springfield Illinois paper:

[N]ames already can be accessed on the ARDC’s [Illinois] Web site, which also states addresses, disciplinary records and whether lawyers have malpractice insurance.

However, there is no way to get a complete list of lawyers from the ARDC’s Web site, which requires users to punch in names to get information. So, if you already know Abraham Lincoln is a lawyer, you can check him out (and yes, Lincoln is listed on the ARDC’s Web site, which states he is deceased and not authorized to practice). But without knowing Lincoln’s name, he would be a very tiny needle in a very large haystack that includes more than 85,000 practicing lawyers.

All of this is particularly relevant because Avvo has announced it is coming to Indiana. The Avvo Blog announced March 2nd, under the heading "Avvo Launches in Eight New States":
I am proud to announce that Avvo has launched in the esteemed states of Louisiana, Indiana, Kansas, Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada, Maine and Wyoming. These states will have full Avvo functionality with one twist: We are launching our *directory* in each of these states in “beta” form.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 9, 2009 03:23 PM
Posted to Courts in general