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| LawGuru.com Attorney Member Help |
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Thank you for being a member of the LawGuru Attorney Network. Below are answers to frequently asked questions about attorney membership, attorney profiles, participation in the Knowledge Base and more.
Just click on any of the questions below to be taken to the appropriate answer.
MY PROFILE / ATTORNEY CONTROL PANEL
THE KNOWLEDGE BASE
MY PROFILE / ATTORNEY CONTROL PANEL
I joined, now what?
The first thing you should do is complete any missing information from your profile and upload a photo. As a new member, you may also want to familiarize yourself with the Control Panel, the Knowledge Base and possibly search through other attorneys on the network. Who knows, maybe you’ll reconnect with an old friend from law school.
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What is the “Attorney Control Panel”?
Consider this your home base for all of your LawGuru activities. Through the Control Panel you can edit your profile, upload photos, answer questions posted on the Knowledge Base, review your past answers, network with attorneys from around the country and much more. Back to top.
How do I edit/change my Attorney Profile?
To edit your profile, simply click on the “Edit Profile” link to the left of your photo. You will be taken to a screen containing all of your information. Make any edits you would like, then hit the “Save” button at the bottom of the page. Back to top.
What information on my profile will the public see?
To view the version of your profile that the public will have access to, click on the “View Profile” link on the right side of your photo. If you would like to hide some of this information from the public, click on “Edit Profile” and scroll down to “Profile Display.” Uncheck the boxes next to any information that you would like to keep private, then click on the “Save” button at the bottom of the page. Back to top.
How do I upload a photo?
To upload a photo, click on the “Edit Photo” link to the right of the photo pane. Click the “Browse” button to locate the photo on your computer. Once you have located the photo, click “Upload” and you’re done. Back to top.
How do I delete a photo?
To delete a photo, click on the “Edit Photo” link to the right of your existing photo. Click on the delete link. Back to top.
What is the “FastTrack”?
The “FastTrack” is a menu to help you quickly access many LawGuru features and services. From this menu you can: i) view your past answers on the Knowledge Base, ii) post to the Knowledge Base FAQ, iii) search the Knowledge Base, iv) enter the LawGuru forums (message boards), v) advertise on the website, and vi) sell your legal forms. Back to top.
What do the network ranking and network points mean?
These are future features that we hope to unveil soon. Back to top.
What is a LawGuru Colleague?
A LawGuru Colleague is another attorney member with whom you wish to keep in more frequent touch. He/she may be another attorney in your office, a friend from law school or just someone that you would like to get to know better. Back to top.
How do I request that someone be my colleague?
It’s easy – when looking at another attorney’s profile, click on the “Add to Colleagues” link located to the right of their photo. At that time a request will be sent to that attorney member informing them that you would like to add them to your colleagues list. Back to top.
How do I delete a current colleague from my profile?
Click on the “communications center” link in your inbox. Find “Active Colleagues” on the menu. When you click on this link, a list of your current colleagues will open at the bottom of the page. Check the box for any colleagues you wish to remove from your list and hit the “Delete” button. Back to top.
Someone has invited me to be their colleague, what do I do?
You can keep track of both the colleague invitations you receive and the colleague requests you’ve made in the communication center. To access the communication center, click on the “communication center” link in your In Box. On the right side of the page, you will see “Colleague Requests – Incoming.” This is a list of requests you’ve received from other attorneys. Click on the link. At the bottom of the page you will see a list of all the pending requests sent to you. You can click on the attorney’s name to be taken to their profile page. If you’d like to accept this attorney as one of your colleagues, click on the “Accept” button, otherwise click on the “Decline” button. Back to top.
How do I send a message to another attorney member?
Find the attorney’s profile that you wish to contact using one of the search features on the control panel. Click on the “Send Message” link to the right of their photo. A message box will pop up with their address already inserted. Complete your message, then hit send. They will receive this message in their personal messages file. Back to top.
What is the LawGuru Intra-Member Case Referral Program?
The Intra-Member Attorney Referral Program is a future service on LawGuru created for its members with the hope of facilitating an easy-to-use forum for client referrals. Stay tuned for its official launch. Back to top.
How do I stop an attorney member from messaging me?
If you find yourself in a situation where you would rather not have a specific attorney contact you, you can block that attorney member from sending you messages through the LawGuru system. Simply find their attorney profile on LawGuru. To the right of their photo, you will see a “Block Attorney” link. Click the link. To unblock the attorney, revisit their profile page and click on the “Unblock Attorney” link to the right of their photo. Back to top.
What’s the difference between Groupwide Messages and Personal Messages?
In the near future, you will be able to join groups on LawGuru. These groups primarily will be organized by geographic and practice area, although our members will have the ability to create their own groups based on whatever criteria they choose (e.g. Surfing Attorneys, Lawyers Who Love College Football, etc.). The groupwide messages are message that are addressed to an entire group. Your personal messages are messages sent specifically to you by another attorney member or the LawGuru team. Back to top.
I lost my password, what do I do?
On the LawGuru for Professionals page, click on the “Forgot Your Password” link to the right of the login box. To receive an email with you password, enter either your email address or LawGuru userID. Back to top.
THE KNOWLEDGE BASE
What Is The LawGuru Knowledge Base?
Every month this website receives thousands of legal questions. Years ago, we spent several months trying to figure out a way to efficiently distribute these questions, which potentially could lead to new business, for other attorneys. The result is this LawGuru.com Knowledge Base, which is the first step towards the "virtual law firm" of the future and a repository of tens of thousands of past legal questions and answers available to the public.
In short this Knowledge Base allows users to post legal questions and helps attorneys, who are part of the free "attorney network," answer those questions through a custom web based interface. Back to top.
What do I get for participating in the Knowledge Base?
Many of our attorneys view participating in the Knowledge Base as a public service. The Knowledge Base can also serve as a new way for you to "do business" on the web. Today you see many services that ask you to pay an exorbitant fee to simply be listed. The LawGuru.com Knowledge Base gives attorneys the opportunity to be on a very popular legal website that attracts people with legal questions for free. Back to top.
How does the Knowledge Base work?
Users are able to search our Knowledge Base's legal question and answer database (made up of past questions and answers and automatically growing every day) in a variety of legal subjects. If a user is unable to find an answer they can use the Knowledge Base to ask a question. Questions that are submitted, are stripped of any identifying information about the user (such as name, phone, address, email, etc.). Once the question is posted, attorneys who are part of the free "attorney network," practice in the same state as the person asking the question, and handle the type of cases the question relates to, will receive automatic email notification that a new question was posted. Attorneys can then directly "jump" to the question's URL (on the Knowledge Base) from their browser and use the Knowledge Base's tools for attorneys to answer or otherwise handle the new question (or any other previous question).
When an answer to a question is posted the user is notified (via e-mail) of where (what web address/URL on the Knowledge Base) to find the answer. Users can then read the answer(s) and directly contact the attorney(s) who answered their question. Each answer to a question by any attorney, will have that attorney's information (i.e. name, address, phone number, e-mail etc.) automatically attached to the answer and to the e-mail reply notification. The user will also be able to click on a link at the end of any answer and find out more information about that attorney, from a specially generated attorney profile page each attorney has. Each attorney can control what information is shown on that attorney's profile page, including a customized "blurb" written by each attorney. Basically, each attorney also gets "free web space" on our Knowledge Base server.
Everyone benefits in this situation. We benefit by getting more traffic at our site, the attorney is the network benefits by getting more and more "exposure" whenever a question is answered by that attorney and his / her name is attached as the "author" of the answer, and most importantly the user of the site wins by hopefully finding or getting an answer to their legal question. Back to top.
How are questions distributed?
Questions are distributed to all attorneys whose profile matches a particular question. For example if a question deals with New York personal injury law, all attorneys on the Knowledge Base who are in New York (or have an office in New York) and who selected "Personal Injury Law" in their profile, would get notified (via e-mail) about the question. The e-mail notification will also have the URL of the question so that you can jump directly to it. Please note that certain types of questions dealing with federal law (i.e. BK, ADA, FMLA etc.) are distributed to attorneys in other states who practice that type of law, regardless of the setting in the profile (i.e. "not receive out of state questions"). This is done since these types of questions are generally not state law specific and give those questions a better chance of receiving a reply. Back to top.
How to reply to (or otherwise handle) questions?
Questions are directly sent to the appropriate attorneys (i.e. those matching category and state). Member attorneys will then have a choice to (a) answer the question (just like before) or (b) reject the questions that do not conform with our terms of use (i.e. because a name was included in the question, too many CAPITAL letters were used, the Knowledge Base was not the proper forum for such a question or the question was submitted under the wrong area of law etc...).
Each question notification message will now contain 2 links you can click on. One link will take you to the reply screen and the other link will allow you to reject a question AND to select a reason for rejection. Please make sure a question is appropriate before you answer it and also please DO NOT simply reject a question just because you don't like it or don't want to answer it (as another attorney may want to answer it).
Please note that with certain questions, you will not have the ability to reject it and there will only be a reply link. Those are generally questions that have already been reviewed by an administrator. Back to top.
Why am I getting questions from other states?
The Knowledge Base distributes questions based on state / country and area of law. There is currently a default minimum number of 3 attorneys the system must notify for each question. If the Knowledge Base finds 3 attorneys in the state the question came from, who also match the area of law the question relates to, it sends the notification to all three attorneys. However, if there are not enough attorneys in that state (or no attorneys), then the system randomly chooses other attorneys (in other states) who match the area of law and whose profile (editable from the Profile Editor screen) is set to receive questions from outside of their state(s) of practice.
Basically, you have the option to either receive out of state questions or not to receive out of state questions (if there are not enough attorneys to answers a question in a particular field / state). If your practice involves areas of law that are mainly based on federal law, like immigration, bankruptcy, ADA etc., you may want to chose to receive out of state questions, since you may be able to help.
To change the settings to receive (or not receive) out of state questions, simply go to the Attorney Main Menu and (if necessary) log in. When you are logged in, go to the "Edit Your Attorney Profile" link under the "Profile Manager" section. Once you click on the "Edit Your Attorney Profile" link, you will be taken to the "Edit Attorney Profile" screen. Once there, simply check or un-check the "Receive Out-of-State Questions" box.
Please note that certain questions dealing with federal law (i.e. BK, ADA, FMLA etc.) are distributed to attorneys in other states who practice that type of law, regardless of the setting in the profile (i.e. "not receive out of state questions"). This is done since these types of questions are generally not state law specific and give question a better chance of receiving a reply. Back to top.
How do I leave the Knowledge Base?
There are two ways to discontinue your participation in the Knowledge Base:
1. You can go inactive and stop receiving e-mail notifications (although you can still participate by reading and replying to questions). You can the become active again at any time; or
2. You can go ahead and delete your profile and remove yourself permanently from the Knowledge Base. If you decide to join the Knowledge Base, you will have to go through the application process again.
Both options can be selected from the Attorney Control Panel. Simply log in (if necessary), and go to the "Profile Manager" section and by selecting either "Delete Your Attorney Profile" or "Go Inactive".
Use the "Go Inactive" function if you just want to "take a break" from the Knowledge Base or don't wish to receive new question notifications. Use the "Delete Your Attorney Profile" function if you do not wish to participate in the Knowledge Base any longer and want your profile to be permanently removed. Back to top.
What does "Go Inactive" mean?
Basically, going inactive makes the system stop sending you e-mail notifications of new questions in your area. By going inactive, you can still participate in the Knowledge Base, but you will not be notified by e-mail each time a new question is posted in your area(s) of practice. This function is useful if you will be away for a while and don't want your e-mailbox filled up or if you just don't want notifications for new questions. If you are inactive, you can still search for and read (new) questions using the search function on the menu. You can become active again, at any time, simply by logging into the attorney menu and selecting the "Reactivate Your Attorney Profile" link. Back to top.
What is the difference between going inactive and deleting an attorney profile?
Going inactive and deleting your attorney profile are not the same thing. Going inactive mainly stops the system from sending you e-mail notifications of new questions (see the previous questions), while deleting your profile removes you permanently from the system. Back to top.
Can I stop receiving e-mail new question notifications?
There is no way "per se" to stop receiving e-mail notifications, but by "going inactive" you can stop the Knowledge Base from sending you notification each time a new question is posted in your area(s) of law. Back to top.
Do I have to answer every question I receive?
No, there is no requirement for attorneys to answer any questions. Being a part of the network does not necessarily mean that you also have to answer any question. However, we encourage you to try to answer the questions that you want to answer. Furthermore, by answering questions, they will be added to the database and will be available for others to see. As you know, each answer also has a tag with your name and contact information and would thus serve as an additional method for "promoting" yourself and your practice. Back to top.
Inappropriate Replies
Attorneys should not use the Knowledge Base as a place for shameless plugs for their services i.e. a reply should not just be a solicitation for a call like a "call me" reply. However, if an attorney gives a good reply to a question and ends by saying "call me for additional information" that would be acceptable. Back to top.
What is the "Quick-Post a Message and Reply" function and how does it work?
This function may or may not be active in the attorney menu depending on how the administrator has set up the Knowledge Base settings. If the option is available, then the "Quick-Post a Message and Reply" function allows attorneys to both post a question and an answer at the same time. This function is useful if you want to add some FAQs about a certain subject to the Knowledge Base. The benefit of doing this, is that people would be able to look up these questions and answers as part of the regular question and answer database and your name and contact information would be attached to the reply. Using this feature is very simple. Just go to the "Quick-Post a Message and Reply" section by clicking on the link. Select an area of law. Select on (or two) state(s) the question and answer applies to. Type in a title. Type in a question. Type a title for the reply. Type in the answer. If you don't have any other questions / answers to add, press "Submit and Quit". If you want to add more questions / answers just press "Submit and Add Another". If you already have pre-made FAQs for you practice area(s) you can just cut-and-paste between your original FAQ document and the "Quick-Post a Message and Reply" form. Back to top.
"Submit Knowledge Base Page to Engines" Functions
There are two functions in the "Fast Track" section of the Attorney Control Panel. They are "Submit Knowledge Base Page to Engines - Auto" and "Submit Knowledge Base Page to Engines - Manual". These links allow you to submit your personal Knowledge Base Home page (and any other page) by clicking on the "Submit Knowledge Base Page to Engines - Auto" or "Submit Knowledge Base Page to Engines - Manual" links. The "Submit Knowledge Base Page to Engines - Auto" link allows you to submit your home page automatically to 9 search engines with the press of one button. It will also automatically fill out the required information for you. The other link ("Submit Knowledge Base Page to Engines - Manual") allows you to submit any page to several (currently 17) search engines. Please do the submission as soon as possible. It will help to increase the total traffic to YOUR page and to the Knowledge Base. You can also use the manual submission to submit any new reply pages you have contributed to the Knowledge Base. You are welcome to use the Manual Submission Page to submit any of your own web pages. Back to top.
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