Before your client sues...

-Determine if the offending post is truly defamatory. "Take a hard look at what the claims are," advises law professor Mark Lemley. "Is it that 'I don't like what people are saying about me,' or is it actionable?"

-Try reaching out. Consider contacting the poster through the web-site to request that an objectionable review be tempered or removed. Attorney Karl Kronenberger says this strategy works for him about 30 percent of the time.

-Prepare to hire a high-tech private investigator. If the objectionable review is anonymous and a suit goes forward, you'll need a tech-savvy sleuth to help ferret out the identity of the poster, says Lemley.

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