Avvo.com is a web site people can go to “Get free advice from top-rated lawyers, doctors and dentists.” I found Avvo about 30 days ago. I know this, because Avvo has a pretty go0d analytic function that tracks my use of the site. I was visiting a colleague’s web site and noticed an Avvo Rating Badge on the bottom of her page. I clicked through for the first time, and have visited Avvo everyday since. I found the Avvo Answers to legal questions posted on Avvo to be thoughtful and helpful. I wanted to participate to the Avvo Answers.
Now I act as a contributor on Avvo; that means I answer questions presented by “Askers” from around the country. I field questions from the Tax, Chapter 7, Chapter 13 and Foreclosure practice areas (mostly). In the first 30 days I have answered 409 questions, and risen to “Contributor Level 14.” It’s been interesting.
Some years ago, I answered legal questions through email I received from a bankruptcy site. I answered thousands of questions. That turned out to be good preparation for learning how to answer complex legal questions in a clear, understandable way. Avvo has given me the forum to put this ability to good use, and help lots of people too!
From both of these experiences, I noticed that many of the same questions rise again and again. For example, on the Avvo Tax Practice Area the most common questions revolve around which party gets the child tax deduction after divorce. For the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Practice Area, the most common questions ask about Schedule C Exemptions.
Over the next several months, I will present some of my Avvo Answers to these, and other, Avvo Questions. In addition, I will convert these blog posts to Legal Guides, published on Avvo. My goal is to make answers to common questons available to those who need these answers, when they need the answers.