Seattle online attorney rating service Avvo has scored $10 million, a significant financing round that CEO Mark Britton said comes at a significant uptick in valuation over the previous round. Total financing in the four-year-old company now stands at $23 million.

The new funds -- led by Silicon Valley-based DAG Ventures and including participation from Ignition Partners and Benchmark Capital -- will be used to bankroll new offerings from the company. Britton declined to disclose what those projects are, saying he didn't want to tip off the competition.

Nonetheless, existing areas of the business are doing well, with Britton pointing specifically to the question and answer section where consumers can get legal questions answered like "How can I challenge a radar detection speed?" and "Is there anything I can do to break an apartment lease agreement?"

Britton said there are now tens of thousands of questions and answers flowing through the service each month. In addition, the company continues to expand its footprint across the U.S. It's lawyer directories are now available in 43 states, with Britton saying that it offers profiles and ratings on about 90 percent of the licensed attorneys in the U.S.

The business is the doing well, and the company has been flirting with profitability. But Britton said it made sense to raise capital now in order to supercharge new product development. Revenues are on the rise, with the vast majority of money coming in through online advertising. (Avvo also offers pro marketing tools to lawyers for $49 per month).

In fact, Britton said the site is now attracting about two million unique visitors each month. And much of that traffic is coming into the site via word of mouth. Britton contrasts that with his big competitor, Lawyers.com, which has engaged in a multi-million dollar marketing campaign.

Avvo certainly has encountered a bumpy road along the way, since it was sued a few days after launching by an attorney who didn't like the rating system. (Later reports called into question the rating system, much like Zillow.com's Zestimates were criticized).

But Britton said the vocal minority has been replaced by thousands of attorneys who extract value out of the service each day. In his view, there's a real power in bringing attorneys and consumers together to help solve legal issues.

Avvo employs 35 people, with plans to boost hiring this year.