Finding a Lawyer Online

I have strong reservations about websites such as the American site Avvo mentioned in this post providing consumer rankings of lawyers but there appears to be slightly more sophisticated ways of using the internet to help find a lawyer. There are of course searchable databases held by the Law Society of Scotland, the Family Law Association Scotland and the Scottish Collaborative Law Group or the Law Society and the lawyers organisation, Resolution, in England & Wales. The Times looks at other innovations aimed at providing more accessible information here.

This includes the publication of disciplinary decisions by the Solicitors Regulation Authority on its website and the Legal Complaints Service plans to make public the complaints records of law firms. Also emerging are online registers of lawyers' professional experience and one where someone can submit their legal problem and receive responses from law firms from which to choose a lawyer. On further investigation I have also found this independant website who review law firms.

Now I'm left wondering how on earth I managed to find a solicitor without logging on.