Lawyers.com no longer publishing A.V. rating

I received the email below advising that neither Lawyers.com nor Martindale.com would be "publishing" my "A.V" rating next to my "listing" unless I paid them $50.00.

Oh wow.

Like consumers really go to Lawyers.com or Martindale, rather than Google, to look for a lawyer. Thousands of potential clients come through the BenGlassLaw.com website a year. I talk to a ton of them. Not a one of them has reported to me that they even know what lawyers.com or martindale.com is, let alone recognize it as a primary source of useful information about finding a lawyer. No, looking at ads that all look pretty much the same is not the way consumers hunt for a lawyer and smart lawyers know this.

Anyway, here's the email I got:

Dear Benjamin W. Glass,

Martindale-Hubbell works with American Registry to help AV Rated attorneys such as yourself maximize the opportunity for leveraging your Peer Review Rating.

As one of a select few attorneys to have achieved the highest possible rating of AV, we want you to be aware that your rating is currently NOT being displayed on Lawyers.com or Martindale.com.

To restore the display of your rating normally costs $59. Now through July 24, you can both save 15%, and pay by invoice on net 30 terms. Here's how:

Simply reply to this email with the subject line "Yes, Please Invoice Me for my AV Rating Display" and we will take it from there.

You will be invoiced for $50.15 and your AV Rating will once again appear beside your listing on both Lawyers.com and Martindale.com.

If you have any questions or concerns about this fee or being invoiced, please contact me, Pat Barnes, by replying to this email, or by phone at 800-892-6998 x2.

Sincerely,

Pat Barnes
Account Manager, American Registry.
By the way, here's the listing they do have for me:

Benjamin W. Glass, III
3915 Old Lee Highway, Suite 22-B
Fairfax, Virginia
(Ind. City; Seat of Fairfax Co.)
 
Benjamin W. Glass, III practices in the following areas of law: Medical Malpractice; Personal Injury; Wrongful Death; Insurance Coverage; ERISA Litigation; Disability Insurance
Admitted: 1983, Virginia; 1984, District of Columbia; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia; 1997, U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia
Law School: George Mason University School of Law, J.D.
College: College of William & Mary, B.A.

Do they really think that adding "A.V" to that is going to make a potential client call a lawyer?