Greg MD Blog

What criteria should be considered in evaluating legal websites?

When searching the internet using (CALR), there are so many hyperlinks to a website that anyone can establish a web storefront for a product or service.  Because an individual creates or opens an online website, that does not mean they are legitimate.  One of the criteria in evaluating legal websites is crucial to identify the differences between if they are .com for commercial, .gov for government, .edu for education, or .org for organizations.  Doing a google search as a consumer will find a wide range of websites, including businesses and personal blogs.  Reading blogs can give information on a site or product, but the researcher should ask themselves how accurate and up-to-date the data is.  When reading blogs, what are the writer’s credentials, and whether they are objective in writing depending on the topic?       

Looking at Justia.com, a legal website that gives the consumer many options for specific guides for the customer looking for civil or criminal matters, this website link takes a person to other pages where they need legal service.  The appearance for consumer research and looking at any website base on the templates gives a visual on how the business site looks and how it functions for the customer to use.  A table of contents or a hyperlink within the Justia website at the bottom has a menu that will give a variety of options.  Also, this particular website has a search box to ask specific questions or using main words to locate relevant information to provide results. 

Looking at Justia, it seems that those who had put this particular website together have some knowledge of the legal service or background, and the last update was 2020.  Their terms of agreement state their website is for information only, and they provide no legal assistance to the public, which they are correct.  Their website offers a legal guide that gives the consumer a brief outline and statistics per category.  They provide legal research and law practice for the consumer can contact a lawyer when needing legal help.  There are many other websites just like this one but reading their information can tell you a lot in evaluating your requirement.  Justia also has a section for lawyers, Legal Aid, and Pro Bono Service in each state and city that a customer can look for legal help and area of practice.  This particular website helps lawyers to grow their practice and exposes their presence.  Justia websites like legal zoom are similar to charging a fee to connect the individual(s) to a lawyer.

Looking at the FindLaw website, it is up to date for 2021 according to their copyright.  There seem to be some similarities with the Justia website, with just a few differences.  These two sites make it easy for the public to understand and provide different options in selecting legal counsel based on your specific needs.           

These are some examples of what to consider when evaluating a legal website.  Most importantly, a legal site cannot provide legal advice because it is a violation.  A website can provide information about a lawyer, how to contact them, and their area of law practice.  Still, the other important issue is the state the lawyer is licensed in that can offer legal assistance.  When evaluating a legal website looking at the authority of whom to contact or business names and addresses are essential. However, if there is no information to reach a person(s) or business, be very cautious; any legal website should have a point of contact.  The other issue is looking for accuracy on their website.  In the past, I found a lawyer in South Bend who had a website with many issues in wording, misspelled, and grammatical errors that were a red flag for accuracy and appearance.  Because reading their website that has many wording issues, would make me question their professional service in providing legal matters. 

Written by:

Greg MD