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10-Rated Lawyer Wins Dismissal of Suit Against Lawyer-Ranking Website

By Debra Cassens Weiss

December 19, 2007, 5:09 pm CST

A federal judge in Seattle has dismissed a lawsuit against a website that rates lawyers, saying the posted opinions are protected by the First Amendment.

This site is called Avvo after avvocato, the Italian word for lawyer. It permits lawyers who want to improve their ratings to add information and allows consumers to post critiques.

Two Seattle lawyers had contended in their suit that the website engaged in unfair and deceptive practices by falsely claiming to be objective, reliable and factual, the Seattle Times reports. One of the lawyers, John Henry Browne, also claimed damage to his reputation when the site rated him only a 5.7 out of 10.

The plaintiffs had contended the ratings were easily manipulated and seriously flawed, asserting that one lawyer in prison for conspiracy got a higher rating than Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Samuel A. Alito Jr., the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

But U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik agreed with Avvo that opinions expressed in attorney ratings “are absolutely protected by the First Amendment and cannot serve as the basis for liability under state law.” Avvo was represented by lawyer Bruce E.H. Johnson of Davis Wright Tremaine, who has a rating of 10 out of 10 on the Avvo site.

“To the extent that [the plaintiffs’] lawsuit has focused a spotlight on how ludicrous the rating of attorneys (and judges) has become, more power to them,” the opinion said (PDF posted by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer). “To the extent that they seek to prevent the dissemination of opinions regarding attorneys and judges, however, the First Amendment precludes their cause of action.”

Avvo CEO Mark Britton, who was formerly general counsel of Expedia, praised the ruling in a news release. “As I have said from the beginning, this was a case that never should have been filed,” he said. “We are gratified that the court agrees. We can now get back to serving consumers rather than litigating with lawyers that want to stop our service.”