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Voice to Text Transcription Service - Jott.com July 27, 2007

Posted by atharkhan in : Tech , 4comments

Just a quick post to share this website I found: www.jott.com.

I tried it out and it works great! Will be back to write a more detailed review.

-A.

How to retrieve your FAFSA PIN Instantaneously July 23, 2007

Posted by atharkhan in : Law School, Personal , add a comment

If you are looking to retrieve your FAFSA PIN immediately, you can do so at: https://pin.ed.gov/epin

I found out about this “hidden page” after spending a half hour on the phone with the FAFSA Customer Service.

Hope this helps and saves you some time.

-Athar.

Rating Attorneys with Avvo.com July 20, 2007

Posted by atharkhan in : Personal, Review, Tech , 1 comment so far

I came across Avvo (www.avvo.com) and thought it was an interesting concept. The site calculates a “rating” for attorneys based on an algorithm. This calculation starts out with publicly available information and determines a baseline number. Then, ratings and reviews from clients and peers are factored in.

Although I am a wholehearted fan of mass collaboration to create an ever-evoving body of knowledge, I am not sure if this particular implementation/embodiment of the concept will be helpful for a potential client in the long run. I can’t imagine established attorneys (who have enough to do already) paying much attention to a site like this. On the other hand, an attorney with a smaller practice may have a greater incentive to increase his/her prominence through this site. One seemingly easy method of manipulating the site would be to ask one’s peers for endorsements in exchange for the same. Given that (wholly subjective) assumption, a solo attorney could easily gain a greater rating than a more experienced and established attorney. One has to wonder whether the algorithm is sophisticated enough to compensate for any potential manipulation.

If the algorithm were indeed susceptible to manipulation, wouldn’t a consumer be misled by the ratings and endorsements? Of course, these are my opinions based on a cursory navigation of the site. I am interested to hear your thoughts and opinions on the topic. Do you think that a lawyer rating system is worthwhile? Would it help a client or mislead them?