Many clients on Avvo choose to leave reviews anonymously, and we honor that choice. We don’t share the identity or contact information of reviewers, even with the attorney they reviewed.
Anonymous reviews help clients speak honestly about sensitive legal issues while still giving potential clients a fuller, more realistic picture of your practice. If you believe a review is not genuine or violates our Community Guidelines, you can flag or dispute it.
Why Avvo allows anonymous reviews
Legal issues are deeply personal
Clients often come to you with matters involving family, finances, health, immigration, or criminal charges, details they don’t want permanently tied to their name in search results. Anonymity lets them talk honestly about experiences like divorce, bankruptcy, or criminal accusations without those details following them.
Anonymity encourages candid, useful feedback
If lawyers could easily identify every reviewer, many clients would stay silent or soften their comments. Allowing anonymity leads to more participation and more honest, useful feedback for prospective clients.
Balanced profiles build more trust
Our research on legal consumers shows that people trust attorney profiles more when they see a mix of feedback. In fact, 61% of consumers say they most trust an average review score between 4.00 and 4.99, while only 7% say they trust a perfect 5.0. A profile with nothing but perfect reviews can feel too good to be true.
Consumer protection rules favor open reviews
Consumer protection policy is built on the idea that people should be able to share honest opinions. Our role is to host a broad range of reviews in an open forum, while still requiring that reviews meet our Community Guidelines.
Frequently asked questions
What can I do if I think a review isn’t genuine?
Reviews must come from people with personal experience with your services, either as a client or as someone who has consulted with you, and must follow our Community Guidelines. If you believe a review is from a non-client (such as an opposing party) or otherwise violates our guidelines, please contact our Customer Care team. Our team will review it and may ask the reviewer for more information.
How can I respond to a negative review if I don’t know who it is from?
Focus on being proactive, professional, and courteous. Your reply often matters as much as the review itself because it shows how you handle criticism and whether you are open to feedback.
Is there any other way to discover a reviewer’s identity?
Outside of a formal legal process, we don’t disclose who wrote an anonymous review. Any subpoena for reviewer information is handled under Internet Brands’ Terms of Use and Release of Information policy and is subject to judicial review and applicable First Amendment standards.
What is Avvo’s role in reviews?
Under Section 230, Avvo is a host of user-generated content and is not the speaker of individual reviews. We provide an open forum, follow FTC guidance, and use our Community Guidelines and moderation tools to remove unlawful or clearly inappropriate content while preserving honest consumer feedback.