I happened to be an attorney, an internet developer and a marketer. In other words, I have certain insight into this subject that most of my fellow attorneys do not.

What I mean to say is that I do not expect my fellow attorneys to be familliar with the subject (Mark’s comment about education, quotes, etc., is right on point) and neither should you.

Why?

Well, for the same reason that I would not pretend to have any idea about Admiralty law, IP law or some other such specialty area. We just do not always have the time to research and learn about subject areas, especially when we are also trying to run a business.

One of the things they do not teach in law school (and something I think we all lament) is how to run a law business. Yes, even those who desire employment in a larger law firm need to understand how hourly rates are calculated against overhead, etc., in order that they be more productive and revenue-generating, and so forth.

Lastly, as a small suggestion, you may want to take more time to listen and less time chastising others – it is better to be quiet and have folks think you are a fool then to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Ignorance is the want of knowledge; choice has nothing to do with it. Because knowledge can be gained without education, “educated” is a weak antonym for “ignorant,” only functional as far as educated people have knowledge. There is nothing contradictory (much less oxymoronic, which is a term often misused by people who think every contradiction in terms is an oxymoron and who further think that using the word “oxymoron” makes them sound less ignorant) about an educated person having ignorance in some area not covered by her education. For example, you are apparently educated, with at least a 4-year degree, but you are ignorant of rhetoric—see “oxymoron.”

Better antonyms for “ignorant” are “knowing” or “savvy” (but not “intelligent” or “competent”, because lots of intelligent people are ignorant and lots of incompetent people are not).

I agree entirely that lawyers should be more savvy about web marketing; that is precisely why I bother with posts like these.

If you dislike my definition and antonyms for the word “ignorance” you could look them up in any online dictionary. I was simply defining the word that you have first chosen to use.

ig·no·rance (?g’n?r-?ns)
n. The condition of being uneducated, unaware, or uninformed.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

from my understanding an ignorant person is lacking knowledge by choice.

regardless of the definition, I have also addressed the options of attorneys unfamiliar with websites and social networking: stick with traditional media outlets.

I can not tell if the guy at the auto shop is ripping me off either, that Is why I do my research by asking my friends and neighbors about the services they have used, how much they have paid for similar services and get at least 2-3 quotes on the work being done, Instead of stopping at the first carshop I see on the street corner.

It isn’t that intelligent people should be able to see a good deal. it is that intelligent people gain that insight in their field of endeavor.

I’m a pretty smart guy myself, but I cannot tell you if the guy at the auto shop is ripping me off even if I can source the parts myself.

2. Wrong. The opposite of ignorance is not “competence,” “education,” or “intelligence,” but “knowledge.” A lawyer can be highly competent in the courtroom, very well-educated, and extremely knowledgeable about all things legal while still being ignorant about internal combustion engines, nuclear physics, or web marketing.

Salespeople often make money by exploiting people’s ignorance. Sparta Townson is such a saleswoman; she can talk a good game and persuade ignorant lawyers to trust her. Instead of trusting barkers like her to direct their web marketing, though, lawyers should do some research on their own. Spread the word.

2. My main concern is the fact that we are not talking about your average Joe Blow here, the clients are ATTORNEYS – some of the most educated people in the country. It is even more disappointing, that not only are they very well educated, all attorneys go through two semesters of Contract Law their first year of law school.

“taking advantage of the ignorance of people with law degrees” is an oxymoronic statement – the direct antonyms of ignorance are “competence”, “education” and “intelligence”. Therefore an ignorant person with a law degree is educationally incompetent.

The fact that an older attorney might not be familiar with social networking is not an excuse, they should either recognize their lack of understanding of the technology and do some research on it, OR, stick with traditional advertising methods such as newspaper/yellow pages ads, billboards, commercials etc.

Apparently our law schools are not doing a good enough job of teaching the subject where an attorney can not properly read/negotiate a basic services contract for themselves, let alone for their client.

You mean there’s nothing inherently illegal or unethical about taking advantage of the ignorance of people with law degrees?

What a unique and interesting perspective, Amanda!

1. If a struggling attorney is paying too much money for these services, why not shop around for other services for another price? Nobody is forcing him to spend the money.

2. An attorney should be educated enough to not need the advice to contact a college computer science department, and be able to think of that idea on their own, especially if they are so strapped for cash

3. Attorneys should be educated enough to read the terms of the contract and inquire about the services in detail

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I am a 1st year law student, I have looked up this subject in other posts and agree that spamming is bad. However, this subject seems to deal with a supposedly unreasonable price for services. I am surprised at the fact that trained, supposedly intelligent attorneys that have survived through law school are not competent enough to shop around for a service, and read the contracts they get into.