The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
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AND THE SURVEY SAYS… by Will Hornsby, Counsel at American Bar Association’s Division for Legal Services Twenty years ago, public opinion polls showed that people tended to rely on trusted sources like friends, family members and lawyers they know when looking for a lawyer to help with a personal legal matter. Those surveys showed that between 70 and 80 percent of people relied on trusted sources, while the other 20 to 30 percent turned to various forms of advertising, primarily the Yellow Pages. Last fall, the ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services engaged Harris International to conduct a nationwide public opinion poll to determine if this dynamic has changed with the ubiquitous use of the Internet. The Committee fully appreciates that a survey can only scratch the surface of a highly textured process such as finding a lawyer for a particular matter. Nevertheless, a few simple questions can give us important insight into this decision-making process. Do people still turn to one another for recommendations? For those who do not, has the Yellow Pages directory been replaced by online searches? And, for those who would turn to online sources, which models would they use? We found that personal referrals are as frequent as they were before the Internet. Eighty percent report they would turn to a trusted source, with just under half turning to friends and family and another third reaching out to lawyers they know. The survey also found that reports of the demise of the Yellow Pages are premature. Overall, only eight percent of the respondents would turn to the Yellow Pages or similar print directories as the primary way of finding a lawyer for a personal legal matter. This is far less than that found in the surveys of the 1990s, but still a tick more than the seven percent who reported they would search online. ONLINE IS THE FUTURE? The survey then explored various online models that people may use as a resource to find a lawyer. While none of the models enjoyed overwhelming support, people are more likely to turn to websites with consumer feedback about lawyers. Google knows this. It incorporates feedback into the criteria to optimize local search results. People also had a fondness for those websites where they could pose questions to be answered by lawyers. These findings suggest people are looking for trust and value when seeking a lawyer for a personal matter. On the other hand, Web 2.0 websites, such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter, were not thought of by many as a likely resource to help find a lawyer for a personal matter. This may be because these resources are newer than other online models and people do not yet connect them to the process of finding a lawyer. Or, it may be because the decision about finding a lawyer for a personal legal matter is too intimate to be shared online. The distinction is important. If people are just not yet thinking about online alternatives, we can expect that to change in the future. If these online communities are to evolve as many of us envision, they will become our trusted source and parallel, if not substitute, for real-world friendships. If that’s the case, these online sources are likely to emerge as more important sources for client development over the next decade. But, if the decision to find a lawyer is too personal to share with a wider community, then these sources may never prove to be a major part of this process. While online options may have become the norm for ordering a book or downloading music, the survey demonstrates that people are looking for trust and value when seeking a lawyer for personal legal matters and may not yet be comfortable that the Internet has an integral role in that process. The movement toward a digital society gives every indication that technology will play a dominant role in our decision-making in the future. This survey raises the question of whether the decision to find a lawyer for personal legal services will be an exception to that trend. ILTA 84 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer The opinions in this article are solely those of the author, not to be construed as the policies of the ABA or any of its constituent entities.