Attorney Credentialing Process

[Timothy S. Faith]

Looking for a verified SL Bar Association attorney?  A list of currently-verified attorney-avatars is available here.

Anyone in Second Life can claim through an avatar to be a qualified, licensed attorney.

The purpose of the Credential Check Program offered by the SL Bar Association (SLBA) is to assist real life attorneys to distinguish themselves, on the basis of the SLBA´s independent checks, as genuine, qualified professionals.

The SLBA offers the Credential Check Program as a service to its member attorneys only.  The purpose of the Credential Check Program is to offer, solely on a no liability basis, a checking service operated by an independent third party that aims to ascertain that a specified avatar was linked, on a specified date, to a licenced attorney.  Nevertheless, although the service is undertaken on a good faith basis, it is basic, undertaken on a volunteer basis, not infallible, and therefore not guaranteed in any way.

The following information should therefore be read carefully by anyone considering engaging an attorney who claims through an SL avatar that s/he has been Credential Checked by the SLBA.

In particular, you should note that while the SLBA uses good faith efforts to seek to associate a specific avatar with a licenced attorney, there is no guarantee that the person responsible for the relevant avatar is or was actually ever a licenced attorney, or that if s/he was at any time a licenced attorney, that s/he:

• remained licenced to practice after the date of the Credential Check;
• is or was ever licenced to practice in your jurisdiction; and/or
• had at the relevant time the requisite knowledge, skills or experience to advise on your specific matter.

In addition, although cases of fraud are rare, if an individual has succeeded in fraudulently passing themselves off as licenced to practice to his/her local bar association, and s/he also provided the SLBA with false employer details, the SLBA Credential Check Program could well not identify that the individual is not a licenced attorney.

The Credential Check Program is therefore not a substitute for undertaking the due diligence you should always perform before engaging anyone to represent you and, consequently, the SLBA accepts no liability to you or any third party in connection with the Credential Check Program.  

The rest of this note explains what the Program involves.

The SLBA takes the following steps to check the identity and credentials of participating attorneys. The SLBA:

1. requires the person seeking the Credential Check to confirm his/her avatar name, his/her real full name, personal contact details, and confirmation that s/he holds a current license in his/her jurisdiction; and

2. contacts the individual in real life by telephone on the employer telephone number provided by him/her to the SLBA, and asks him/her to confirm the name of the avatar for which they are responsible.

If there is a match between the name of the applicant, the avatar details provided by him/her and the name and avatar details provided during the call, the SLBA then:

3. seeks to confirm the person's employment status by telephoning and/or checking the website of his/her firm or business.

If the given employer´s switchboard or website states that the relevant individual is employed by them, the SLBA then:

4. confirms that the relevant individual currently appears to be licensed to practice law by checking the website of the bar association in his/her jurisdiction.

The SLBA does NOT perform any review of the person's qualifications or capability. This Credential Check Program only confirms that, on the date the information was checked, a specified avatar  appeared to be linked to a licensed attorney, with a practicing certificate issued by a recognized bar association.

The SLBA does NOT guarantee that the information provided is correct. As noted above, the Credential Check is made in reliance on information supplied by the person, his/her firm or employer, and the bar association. It is possible that the information is incorrect, false, or out-of-date. Before retaining an attorney, a potential client should double-check his/her identity and credentials and conduct appropriate due diligence.

Interested in participating in our credentialing program?  An application form is attached.  Please complete this and pay the credentialing fee of L2,750 in-world at our offices in Justitia.