AVVO LAWYER DIRECTORY ATTACKS DISABLED LAWYER; DISPUTE LANDS BEFORE 9TH CIRCUIT

Andrew U. D. Straw is a disabled attorney, Active in Good Standing in Virginia.

“My case concerns Avvo lawyer directory lying about my not having an active Virginia State Bar license when I did for 3 years,” Straw said.  “It is a crime in Virginia to practice law without a license, so Avvo was implying that I was committing a crime by seeking clients.”

“Also, Avvo listed my Indiana license as suspended for 4 years and 4 months when that discipline was disability complaint retaliation,” Straw said.  “See, http://discipline.andrewstraw.com  It is also against the rules of the Indiana Roll of Attorneys to take that information and republish it.  Avvo has trouble telling the truth and while they said my Virginia license was not active, the Founder of Avvo was pretending he had a Virginia license when he did not.”

“The very idea that a lawyer directory would want to attack a disabled lawyer and hurt his reputation is absurd, but it happened to me,” Straw said.  “I have found that Avvo is jam packed with Republicans, even a former RNC Chair and Bush 2004 campaign manager are in the parent company, KKR.  I am a Democrat and strong disability rights advocate.  Avvo deserves punishment and I am using both the ADA and Washington State tort laws to achieve this.  At stake is whether a national directory of lawyers can lie about the people listed in it, disabled or not.  This affects the entire bar and the ability of disabled people to get a lawyer when needed.”

“Straw is suing at the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.  Even the trial judge had ethics problems, with his law clerk moving from his judicial office during Straw’s lawsuit to now work for the law firm representing Avvo,  The judge was appointed by President Bush and Avvo is owned by KKR, which includes an officer who was President Bush’s 2004 campaign manager and the RNC Chair,” Straw said.  “Sometimes, the corruption and politicization of the Court is so accepted without question, the judge treats it as normal activity even when it violates ABA Rule 2.2 and 28 U.S.C. 144 & 455.  That is what happened with Senior Judge Robart in Seattle.  Avvo is so confident that its dishonesty will be protected, it lied to the 9th Circuit in its brief, stating that no 10% owner is a public entity when KKR owns Internet Brands, the owner of Avvo and KKR is on the NYSE.”

REPLY, Straw v. Avvo, Inc., 20-35971 (9th Cir.)