Up To 25 Million Americans Went Without Legal Counsel Over The Last Two Years Because They Didn't Know How To Choose The Right Lawyer

Seattle, WA - Almost 25 Million adult Americans were in a situation within the last two years where they looked and considered hiring an attorney but did not because they didn't know how to choose the right lawyer the results of a new survey indicated today.

Choosing a lawyer is an incredibly important decision in most people's lives, but just one in six (17%) of Americans surveyed felt very confident in their ability to choose the right lawyer with more people using online resources (32%) than the traditional Yellow Pages (25%) to find and choose a lawyer. These were among the findings of a recent Ipsos survey commissioned by Avvo Inc., which today launched www.avvo.com, a website that rates and profiles every lawyer so consumers can choose the right lawyer.

When asked which fictional character best represented the type of lawyer they wanted representing them, respondents gravitated toward venerable characters, ranking Jack McCoy from NBC's long-running series "Law & Order" highest, followed by "Matlock" and "Perry Mason" tying for second place and Atticus Finch from the classic literary novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" close behind in third place.

Couldn't Choose Because They Didn't Know... 29% of US households, or 11% of all American adults, indicated that they'd been in a situation in which they considered hiring an attorney, but didn't because they didn't know how to choose the right one.

• The regions where Attorneys were sought the most were East South Central, West South Central and South Atlantic
• Those aged 25-34 looked most
• Those with incomes over $100K looked most, followed by those with incomes under $25K
• The three regions where this was the strongest case (all tied at 16%) were: South Atlantic, West South Central and Mountain
• 11% of all American adults (from the 29% of households) equates to approximately 25 million American adults

Easy To Find Detailed Information On Attorneys? In a word: no.

• Only 17% think it's easy to research detailed information on attorneys
• The Mountain region found it the most difficult - 39% disagreed or strongly disagreed

And Just Where Do Folks Go To Choose An Attorney? Clearly, a personal or professional reference is most often where people turn...but Online now outranks letting your fingers do the walking through the Yellow Pages:

• Personal Referral -- 69%
• Lawyer or other Professional Referral -- 37%
• Online Resources (online legal directory/search engine/lawyer website) -- 32%
• Yellow Pages -- 25%
• Other -- 10%
• Top 3 for men: Personal referral, online resource, Lawyer/professional referral
• Top 3 for women: Personal referral, Lawyer/professional referral, online resource
• Income affected results - Online fell behind Yellow Pages for those with incomes below $25K, and Lawyer referrals increased with income levels
• All US markets (Northeast/Midwest/South/West) ranked in order of Personal referral, Lawyer/professional referral and Online resources, except for the Midwest, which ranked Yellow Pages above Online
• In individual regions, Online ranked lowest in West North Central (19%) and highest in Pacific region (44%)

So, What Information Do Americans Want To See When Choosing Their Attorney? The Good...And The Not So Good... Americans indicated that if they were facing a serious issue and had to choose a lawyer to represent them, they'd rank, in order of importance, the following they'd want to know:

The good....

• Lawyer has handled similar cases - 85%
• Lawyer has received positive ratings from former clients - 82%

The not so good...

• Lawyer has one or more disciplinary sanctions due to professional misconduct while practicing law - 72%

Only One In Six Consider Themselves Very Confident In Their Ability To Choose... Not many are confident in their ability to choose the right lawyer should they need one:

• Only 17% consider themselves very confident
• East South Central is the most confident with 22% saying they're very confident
• East North Central is the least confident with 13% saying they're very confident

For Those Who Are Using An Attorney, The Satisfaction Verdict Is In... Only 11% disagree with the statement "Overall, I am satisfied with the performance of my current attorney or attorneys I have used in the past"

But If The Fictional Lawyer Could Represent Them, Who Would It Be? In ranked order, the following fictional attorney's best represent the type of lawyer Americans would like to represent them:

• Jack McCoy -- 17% (had strongest vote in New England - 25%)
• Perry Mason -- 13% (had strongest vote in both East and West South Central - 16%)
• Matlock -- 13% (had strongest vote in both South Atlantic and West South Central - 20%)
• Atticus Finch -- 11% (had strongest vote in East South Central - 18%)
• Sebastian Stark -- 6% (had strongest vote in West North Central - 12%)
• Denny Crane -- 3% (had strongest vote in Mountain - 7%)
• Ally McBeal -- 2% (had strongest vote in Mid-Atlantic - 4%)
• Arnie Becker -- 1% (had strongest vote in East South Central - 6%)
• Top 3 for men: Jack McCoy and Perry Mason tied, Matlock
• Top 3 for women: Jack McCoy, Matlock, Atticus Finch
• Strongest choices for Northeast: Jack McCoy, Perry Mason
• Strongest choices for Midwest: Jack McCoy, Matlock
• Strongest choices for South: Matlock, Perry Mason
• Strongest choices for West: Perry Mason, Atticus Finch

During April and May of 2007, Ipsos conducted an omnibus online survey of approximately 1,000 adults, all aged 18 and older. The study was commissioned by Avvo Inc. Ipsos reports a 95 percent confidence level that the results of both surveys are accurate to within +/- 3 percent.

For more Information on this news release, please contact: Jeff Etherton Associate Vice President Ipsos Insight (425) 455-1132 Jeffrey.Etherton@ipsos-na.com

About Ipsos in North America Ipsos is the fastest growing market research company in the U.S., market leader in Canada, and among the most trusted research brands in North America. With more than 1,500 professionals and support staff in the U.S. and Canada, Ipsos offers a suite of survey-based services - guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies - in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos companies offer a complete line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services. Ipsos conducts polling on behalf of the Associated Press, the world's oldest and largest news organization.

In 2006, Ipsos generated $1.1 billion U.S. in total revenues, of which 34 percent came from its North American operations. The Paris-based company was founded in 1975 and has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos-na.com..

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