Rating methodology - the formula, the sources and the rules that never change quietly
This document describes exactly how the data in a lawyer's profile becomes a single score out of 100, where each number comes from, who checks it and how, and what happens when a lawyer or a client disagrees with the result. It is written so that anyone, including the lawyer, can recalculate their own score by hand.
The methodology is versioned. Any change to weights, thresholds or sources becomes a new version, is recorded in the history table, and all scores are recalculated at the same moment - lawyers scored by the old and the new formula never stand in one list.
Published
Five rules the formula obeys
Measurability: only what is stored in the database as a number or a date takes part in the score. "Reputation", "recognition" and "impression" do not exist in the formula, because they cannot be verified.
Publication in advance: weights, thresholds and rounding rules appear on this page first and take effect only afterwards. A lawyer never learns about a new rule from a change in their own score.
Independence from payment: the platform's revenue comes from lawyers' visibility plans and from leads, and both fields are technically excluded from the formula. The plan and lead_price columns are not passed to the code that calculates the score.
Consent: a score is calculated only for a lawyer who has personally agreed to publish a profile. There is no list scraped from open sources and no unauthorised rating on the platform.
Reversibility: every score can be recalculated by hand at any moment using the formula on this page, and every automatic exclusion can be reviewed by a person. The algorithm is not the final instance.
The five criteria - the exact formula and the data source
Total = experience + reviews + transparency + focus + response time, at most 100. Each part is rounded to one decimal, and the total is the sum of the rounded parts.
The 5 steps of profile verification before a score is calculated at all
Verification is done by hand, by a person, and every step is stored in the database with a date and the checker's ID. There is no automatic "verified" badge.
Certificate number in the register
The number given by the lawyer is checked in the public register of the Georgian Bar Association. If the number does not exist or belongs to another person, the profile is held and the lawyer is informed.
Name and specialisation match
The name, surname and specialisation recorded in the register (general, criminal, civil) must match the profile. A difference in the form of the name (Georgian and Latin script, for example) is acceptable; a difference in specialisation is not.
Status "active"
The register status must be active on the day of the check. A suspended, terminated or disciplinary-restricted status keeps the profile from publication until the sanction expires.
Identity confirmation
The lawyer confirms by video call or in person that they created the profile themselves - that nobody registered a profile in their name. A photo, if uploaded, must show the same person.
Consent and the re-check interval
The lawyer agrees in writing to publication, to receiving reviews and to being assessed by this methodology. The register status is re-checked every 90 days, and the verification date is shown openly on the profile.
How a review is checked and why not every one is published
Reviews are the easiest part of a ranking to fake, so they have the strictest filter: only a person whose enquiry is recorded on the platform has the right to leave one.
- Link to a lead
- Every review is tied in the database to a specific lead (enquiry) - review.lead_id. A review that arrives without a lead technically cannot be stored, which closes the door to "reviews from friends" from the start.
- When the link is sent
- The review link is sent to the client only after the lead is marked as "case started" or "completed" - not right after the call. One lead, one link, one review.
- Verified client
- The "verified client" mark (is_verified) appears only when the coordinator has confirmed the fact of the case with the client by phone. An unconfirmed review is published, but without the mark.
- Moderation
- A review is published within 72 hours if it concerns the case and contains no third-party personal data or abuse. The text is not edited - it is either published in full or not at all, with the reason given to the author.
- The lawyer's reply
- A lawyer may write a public reply to any review but cannot delete or hide it. The reply appears under the review and does not affect the score.
- Negative reviews
- One- and two-star reviews are published by the same rules as five-star ones. The coordinator informs the lawyer in advance but does not hold publication - otherwise the list would show only satisfied clients.
What we check automatically and what counts as manipulation
The system looks every day for patterns that do not resemble natural behaviour. A detection triggers a check first, not a penalty.
- Review velocity: more than three reviews for one lawyer in 24 hours when the number of leads does not explain it - all new reviews are held until the coordinator has contacted the clients.
- A single source: several reviews from one IP hash or one contact under different names - the reviews are not published and the leads are marked as spam.
- Self-review: a lead whose contact matches the lawyer's own number or e-mail, or their firm's - the review is voided, and on a repeat the review criterion is frozen for that lawyer for 6 months.
- Swaps: two lawyers reviewing each other under client names - the review score is reset to zero for both, and the fact may be reported to the ethics commission.
- Artificial improvement of response time: an automatic "received" reply with no content does not count as a reply - responded_at is filled only on the first substantive reply confirmed by the coordinator.
- Inflated experience: the years stated in the profile exceed the year of admission in the register - the field is replaced with the register value at verification and the lawyer is informed.
A worked example - two hypothetical lawyers, one formula
Lawyer A: 14 years, 12 reviews averaging 4.8, a fully completed profile, 1 practice area, replies in 45 minutes on average (8 replies). Lawyer B: 25 years, 0 reviews, only the fee and biography filled in, 2 practice areas, replies in 15 hours on average (5 replies).
What this score cannot measure - and why we say so openly
The score does not measure the share of cases won. Court statistics by lawyer are not public in Georgia, and a lawyer's self-declaration cannot be verified - so a "win rate" is deliberately absent from the formula, even though it is the most requested number.
The score is unstable on small samples. One new review can change the score of a lawyer with two reviews by 5 points; the confidence factor reduces this effect but does not remove it. Among lawyers with fewer than ten reviews, a difference of two or three points is within random variation.
The score preserves regional inequality. A Tbilisi lawyer has more leads, more reviews and more chances to collect response-time points than a lawyer in Ambrolauri. That is why the city sub-list is a fairer comparison than the national list, and the main page shows both.
The score does not know what you need. Language, budget, city, the type of matter and personal fit lie outside the formula. That is exactly why there is a coordinator, who uses the ranking as a tool and not as the answer.
How a score, a review or an exclusion is appealed
The procedure is the same for a lawyer and for a client; only who starts it differs.
A request naming a specific point
The lawyer from the dashboard, the client by e-mail: which criterion, which review or which exclusion, and why. A general "the score is low" request is not considered - a reply with this explanation comes within a day.
Freezing the data
During the review the disputed element (a specific review, for example) stays in the list but with an "under review" mark. The score does not change until there is a decision.
A check within 5 working days
The coordinator checks the lead history, the call with the client and the database records. Both sides are asked where necessary. The check is carried out by someone who did not take part in the original verification.
A written decision
Both sides receive the same text: what was checked, what was found, what changes. If a review is removed, the score is recalculated at once; if it stays, the lawyer has the right to a public reply.
Repeat review
The same point can be appealed again only with new evidence. A systemic objection to the methodology (not to an individual score) is accepted through a separate form and considered when the next version is discussed.
Version history
Every change is recorded here before it takes effect. The version number is shown on every ranking page.
Questions about the methodology
Why does the weight of reviews equal the weight of experience?
Because both answer one question from different sides - "can this lawyer run a case?" Experience says it from the register, reviews say it from clients. Placing one above the other would reward either a senior lawyer who does not communicate, or a young one with many satisfied but simple cases.
Why 3 in the factor n/(n+3) and not another number?
Three reviews is the threshold at which one outlier can no longer move the average by more than one star. With this number a single review gives a quarter of the score, three give half, ten give three quarters. A larger number would punish new lawyers for years; a smaller one would give a single review too much power.
Does the methodology count a lawyer's public activity - articles, talks?
No. It is a measurable but easily purchased signal, and for a client it does not mean a result. If it is added in a future version, it will enter the transparency block with no more than 2-3 points and only for verified publications, and the change will appear in the history table.
Can a lawyer see the components of their own score?
Yes - the same five columns a client sees, plus the raw data: which reviews count, which leads enter the response time and which field is empty in the transparency block. The dashboard shows which single action would bring the most points.
What happens when the formula changes - are old reviews kept?
Reviews, leads and verification records are never deleted. Only the calculation rule changes, and it applies to all profiles at the same time. On the day of the change every lawyer is sent their old and new score with an explanation.
The ranking is a tool; the choice is yours
If you would rather not read scores, tell the coordinator your matter - within 15 minutes they will match you with a lawyer assessed by this methodology, in your city and your language.