He will then move into an advisory role at the company through May 20 and be compensated at a $216.35 hourly rate, according to a copy of a transition agreement between Wilson and Yelp. Wilson will continue to receive his current $450,000 base salary and benefits at Yelp though Feb. He said he hopes to “eventually tap into the next great thing when the opportunity presents.” Upon leaving Yelp later this year, Wilson said he expects to take some time off to recharge with his family. The law leadership change comes after San Francisco-based Yelp in recent years has become increasingly willing to take on technology titans such as Google parent Alphabet Inc. founded the company, and five years before the Yelp turned to Cooley to advise on an initial public offering that raised more than $107 million. Yelp hired Wilson in 2007, three years after former senior engineers at PayPal Holdings Inc. We’ll be following this story as it develops.Yelp Inc.’s first in-house lawyer and general counsel, Laurence Wilson, retired Friday from a company he helped take public and turn into a major destination for online business reviews.Īaron Schur, former senior director of litigation and deputy general counsel, is succeeding Wilson, Yelp said in a Jan. A scheduling conference has been set for April 26, 2010. District Court for the Central District of California.
Yelp! Inc.): it was originally filed on February 23, 2010, and is pending in the U.S. So there you have it: the lawyers are latching onto their prey like vicious dogs.Īs for the case (Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital Inc. Still, there is much work left to be done through the legal process, including the looming issues of Yelp’s ‘pay to play’ sales tactics, as well as the pursuit of substantial restitution and damages owed to the class members.” “Small businesses have been expressing their outrage at Yelp’s dirty business practices for a long time, and it is unfortunate that it took the filing of a class action to get Yelp to make even. In the press release, the two law firms jointly stated: In addition to the two changes made to the service, Yelp has established a so-called Small Business Advisory Council whose members will provide the company’s management with “guidance and perspective regarding the concerns of small business owners”.Īpparently, all this wasn’t enough to appease the class action lawyers, who are clearly trying to make a name for themselves in this highly-publicized kerfuffle. We’ve said all along we believe these incorrect notions stem from the combination of the filter and this advertising feature - and we’re practicing what we preach. In a post on the Yelp blog, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman wrote this morning:ĭespite our best efforts to educate consumers and the small business community, myths about Yelp have persisted. The company has done its utmost to deny all accusations vehemently. The three lawsuits that were filed earlier this year allege that Yelp put pressure on local businesses to advertise on the site, and to add insult to injury turned against companies that didn’t comply by negatively manipulating their ratings. In addition, it is letting users see reviews that have been removed by its (automated) “review filter,” which is designed to help prevent business owners from posting all too positive reviews of their own company or malicious reviews of competitors.
For one, the startup is removing a feature that allowed businesses that advertised with Yelp to place their favorite review above others. In a press release distributed earlier this morning, class action lawyers Beck & Lee from Miami and The Weston Firm in San Diego declared victory over Yelp, calling the modifications a “first step in the right direction”.īut that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t be pushing through for damages on behalf of their clients.įirst, let’s take a look at the modifications Yelp is making. Local business review site Yelp is drawing a ton of headlines today as the company has announced a number of changes to the way it conducts business in the wake of several lawsuits that accused the company of extorting businesses to advertise.
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