ABA Family Legal Guide

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Professional Services Online

How do I know that what the professional says online is true?

The truth is that often you cannot be sure that a professional's webpage contains the unvarnished truth. A webpage, like any advertisement, is subject to potential embellishment of the facts.

Common sense again plays a crucial part. Just as you should not hire a doctor, a lawyer, or other professional without doing diligent research (i.e., inquiring about references or board certification), you should not retain professional services based solely on an Internet advertisement. Also, because of the Internet's global reach, you must confirm that the professional is in fact licensed to practice in your state (assuming that such a license is required).

To assuage client and patient concerns, several professional organizations have begun establishing "seals of approval" to award to websites of practitioners who adhere to standards of privacy and quality. For example, Hi-Ethics has begun such a program for health-related websites.

Another safeguard may come through domain registration. For example, RegistryPro is developing a service by which domain names are issued to accounting, medical, or legal professionals only after confirmation that they are currently licensed and are who they claim to be. Domain name registration companies (registrars) working to register names ending in ".pro" will register names for these professionals. While authenticated domain names do not guarantee that everything said on a professional's website is true, at least there will be assurances of identity and licensure status.