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Judge Points Out That Lawyer Ranking Site Is Free Speech... Even If It's Dumb
from the that-whole-free-speech-thing dept
Earlier this year, we wrote about a new website, Avvo, that had created an algorithm to try to "rank" lawyers based on quality. It should come as no surprise, of course, that some lawyers (e.g., the low-ranked ones) weren't particularly pleased with such a system and some of them got together to sue the site as a class action suit -- on behalf of poorly ranked lawyers around the world. While you can certainly understand why lawyers would be upset at such a site, just because you're upset about something doesn't make it illegal. And, just as judges have repeatedly pointed out that things like Google's search rankings are protected free speech as opinions, a judge has dismissed the lawsuit against Avvo, noting that the rankings are merely opinions and that's protected free speech. That's not to say that the judge thinks Avvo is particularly useful. In fact, he points out how ridiculous the rankings are -- but that doesn't mean they're illegal. Chalk one up for free speech online.
Reader Comments
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This makes me think of like Revenge of the Nerds or something--a bunch of laughable losers decide to take on something bigger and more popular than themselves. Of course, in the movie, they'd win. And with the movie, the audience wants them to.
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You have a typo
'...judge things' should read '...judge thinks'.
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Re:
Ooops. Thanks. fixed.
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I guess mike *is* human after all
;)
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Kind of Ironic
It's pretty ironic that the low ranked lawyers had their case thrown out. Adds a little credibility to the rankings in my viewpoint.
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Re: Kind of Ironic
Uhh, actually it's not ironic, but it does add credibility...
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Haha
So, since they lost, do the lawyers still charge themselves a fee?
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Yeah, with a site like this, there's no way to lose! Sure, you might get sued, but only by the crappiest lawyers...
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Judge thinks?
This would be an odd situation... Remember Lawyers (Lie-ers) become Judges...
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Self-fulfilling
So the low-ranked lawyers sue ... further proving their ranking for not knowing First Amendment rights.
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RE: Kind of Ironic by Syn-Ack
Damn, you stole my thunder! :)
And nice TCP reference there.
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Interesting...
With all of the precedents relating to free/protected speech and rankings online, you'd think that any lawyer that was worth a damn would have known that this case had no chance.
Wait a minute...
Now I get it!
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Re: Interesting...
Thanks for the chuckle!
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My Favorite Quote
Avvo says, "We're not trying to make you look bad. You're doing quite well on your own."
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