avvo webinar: working on the web -- delivering legal services online
TRANSCRIPT
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Working the Web: Delivering Legal Services Online
by Josh KingAvvo, Inc.
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Josh King
General Counsel &
Vice President, Business Development
Avvo, Inc.
Twitter: @joshuamking
Email: [email protected]
Introduction
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Overview
• Social Media as Advertising
• Performance-based Advertising
• Online “Deals”
• Unbundled Legal Services
• Cloud Considerations
• Conclusion and Q&A
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Social Media as Advertising
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Social Media is About Sharing
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
ABA Model Rule 7.1
• A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about
the lawyer or the lawyer's services. A communication is false or
misleading if it contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law,
or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a
whole not materially misleading.
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
How Not To Use Social Media
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Social
Social Media Is Not a Billboard
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Illustration: CA Ethics Opinion
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Performance-Based Advertising
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
ABA Model Rule 5.4
(a) A lawyer or law firm shall not share legal fees with a nonlawyer . . .
(c) A lawyer shall not permit a person who recommends, employs, or
pays the lawyer to render legal services for another to direct or
regulate the lawyer's professional judgment in rendering such legal
services.
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
ABA Model Rule 7.2
(a)Subject to the requirements of Rules 7.1 and 7.3, a lawyer may
advertise services through written, recorded or electronic
communication, including public media.
(b)A lawyer shall not give anything of value to a person for
recommending the lawyer's services except that a lawyer may
(1)pay the reasonable costs of advertisements or communications
permitted by this Rule;
(2)pay the usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit
or qualified lawyer referral service. A qualified lawyer referral
service is a lawyer referral service that has been approved by
an appropriate regulatory authority
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Zelotes v. Total Attorneys Cases
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Comment to Rule 7.2
“Moreover, a lawyer may pay others for generating client leads, such
as Internet-based client leads, as long as the lead generator does not
recommend the lawyer, any payment to the lead generator is
consistent with Rules 1.5(e) (division of fees) and 5.4 (professional
independence of the lawyer), and the lead generator’s
communications are consistent with Rule 7.1 (communications
concerning a lawyer’s services).
To comply with Rule 7.1, a lawyer must not pay a lead generator that
states, implies, or creates a reasonable impression that it is
recommending the lawyer, is making the referral without payment
from the lawyer, or has analyzed a person’s legal problems when
determining which lawyer should receive the referral.”
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Competitive Keyword Ads
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Organic Results
Sponsored Listing
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Online “Deals”
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Groupon for Legal Services?
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Issues Raised By Bars
• Is the fee split a reasonable cost of advertising?
• Does it violate prohibition on splitting fees with non-lawyers?
• How to comply with trust account rules?
• Is creation of attorney-client relationship being delegated?
• Could this be an excessive fee?
• How to deal with refunds?
• Where service isn’t appropriate for client
• Where lawyer isn’t competent to provide service
• Conflict Issues
• What of duties of competence and diligence?
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Compliant Online Sales Would Include:
• An appropriate offer that the attorney is competent to provide
• Adequate disclosures
• Deposit of funds into client trust account
• (advance payment or earned retainer? Depends on state)
• A refund mechanism – and readiness to refund the whole thing
• Some assurance that the fee paid cannot be said to interfere with the
lawyer’s independent professional judgment (i.e., there is no way the
marketer can control the legal services provided by the attorney)
• Treatment of purchasers as “prospective clients” under ABA Model
Rule 1.18
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
ABA Model Rule 1.18
(a) A person who consults with a lawyer about the possibility of
forming a client-lawyer relationship with respect to a matter is a
prospective client.
(b) Even when no client-lawyer relationship ensues, a lawyer who
has learned information from a prospective client shall not use or
reveal that information, except as Rule 1.9 would permit with respect
to information of a former client.
(c) A lawyer subject to paragraph (b) shall not represent a client
with interests materially adverse to those of a prospective client in
the same or a substantially related matter if the lawyer received
information from the prospective client that could be significantly
harmful to that person in the matter, except as provided in
paragraph (d).
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Unbundled Legal Services
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ABA Model Rule 1.2(c)
(c) A lawyer may limit the scope of the representation if the
limitation is reasonable under the circumstances and the client gives
informed consent.
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Limited Scope Representation
• Attorney handles discrete “chunks” of work
• Examples:
• Advice or form completion
• Coaching
• Drafting
• Court appearances
• States have rapidly started to adopt over last 10 years
• Opportunities abound for online/telephonic services
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Even full scope in some areas
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Cloud Considerations
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Software-as-a-Service (“SAAS”)
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Avvo, Inc. Confidential - ©2014
Josh King
General Counsel &
Vice President, Business Development
Avvo, Inc.
Twitter: @joshuamking
Email: [email protected]
Questions?
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