"Whoever gave him his qualifications should be shot, " writes an aggrieved ex-client of a Dublin solicitor. "He has different staff every week and calls you up six months after you have finished dealing with him to discuss things he should have done six months ago. Incompetent, ignorant, rude.

He should not be allowed to deal with the public."

Another Dublin firm has been slammed by 15 people. "I know them very well . . . too well, " warns one poster. "Avoid like the plague.

They can't keep staff. I wouldn't trust them with a penny, much less a court case or my property."

"They have to be the worst solicitors in Dublin, " another person agrees.

Launched just six months ago by the Victims of the Legal Profession Society, rateyoursolicitor. com has become an increasingly popular place for people to vent their frustrations with the legal profession.

Modelled on the website ratemyteachers. ie, which allows students to rate how good or bad a teacher is, rateyoursolicitor names and shames solicitors who aren't performing, in their exclients' opinions.

And these vary wildly per solicitor, with few able to agree fully on how one has performed for them.

But nine solicitors around the country have been given an 'Avoid' rating, with several damaging comments on each of them.

Solicitors in Kerry have done particularly badly on this site, starting a war of words as to who is good and who isn't. One solicitor is said to be "very professional and efficient" and "highly recommended, " by two posters, while several others have denounced him.

"He said he sent my files to my old address, although he had my new address as he did the bloody conveyance, " complains one exclient. "I would have thought this is inexcusable."

"He caused terrible issues in our family, " says another. "Sold my widowed mother down the river with small print on a contract that she signed under his instruction, although it served the purposes of the third party."

Serious allegations are all over this site.

"She undertook to do a conveyance for me and instead represented the interests of a party that sought to assume ownership of the property, " claims one poster about a country solicitor. Several others add similar stories of their own.

"As a builder, I wished to change banks, " writes Bob. "She refused to surrender files, " he claims.

According to Bob, he and a few friends confronted the solicitor in her office. "She chickens out when you do this, " he advises.

Yet another client found her "OK" and another says she was "very helpful when I recently attempted to purchase some property".

Elsewhere, solicitors are accused of posting anonymous positive messages about themselves. "Many solicitors are using this site to give themselves good ratings, " reads one message. "Lay people should use the site to give their experiences to tip the balance in favour of the good ones and against the crooks."

But one solicitor has called for an end to corruption in the legal profession. "Let's stop being silent and acquiescent when we know colleagues who are letting the profession down, " he writes. "As a young solicitor, I welcome this site."