The attorney referral service manages a network of lawyers, and connects people who need a lawyer with participating attorneys. Potential clients who contact lawyer referral services are directed to lawyers who practice in the areas of law most appropriate for their situation. Some attorney referral services charge fees to provide referrals, while others provide no-cost referrals to prospective clients. Many referral services link prospective clients with lawyers who agree to provide free, initial consultation for free.
- Referral services are often provided by state and local trunk associations as a public service.
- Referral services may also be offered by non-profit organizations and advocacy groups.
- The non-profit referral service may associate lawyers with clients who pay for membership fees, or fees for successfully referenced clients, subject to the rules of sharing fees with non-lawyers.
Video Lawyer referral service
Process
Historically, attorney referral services involve prospective clients who contact lawyers associations or respond to advertisements, by placing phone calls to services and seeking referrals. With the internet boom in the 1990s, many consumers turned to the web to search for goods and services. A study released in 2012, shows that 76 percent of adult consumers seeking lawyers use online resources at some point during the search process.
Some referral services provide referrals to lawyers in various areas of legal practice. Others may focus on referrals within a narrow range of training areas, or a single practice area.
An online attorney referral service is sometimes called a matching attorney-client service . The person contacting the service may be matched with one or more lawyers, based on factors such as areas of legal practice and geographic location. Lawyers who participate in the service may pay a fee for participation, fees for each referral, or in some cases a percentage of the amounts charged to the referred client. In some cases, prospective clients will be able to choose from a list of appointed lawyers, while in other cases referrals will be made to special participating attorneys.
If a client is unable to afford a lawyer and a legal matter is not a matter that can be handled by a lawyer based on a percentage of fees, some referral services may try to match clients with pro bono lawyers, or direct clients to legal aid organizations or legal student clinics for help.
Maps Lawyer referral service
Ethics
Ethical issues may arise for attorneys who participate in non-profit referral services, and state regulations governing participation may vary significantly.
Some referral services are certified by bar associations, including the American Bar Association. The certified referral service must maintain the service standards as determined by the certification organization. Among these standards, certification may require that participating attorneys meet minimum experience standards, or maintain legal malpractice insurance.
The American Bar Association provides a list of attorney reference services that meet certification requirements.
Controversy
Some legal associations have expressed concern that lawyer referral services may cause lawyers to try to mutually undermine to get clients, rather than focusing on the quality of service and developing their reputation among their peers.
Another concern about lawyer referral services relates to client confidentiality. When a prospective client contacts a lawyer directly about retaining the services of a lawyer, communication is usually held strictly confidential under the principles of the attorney-client privilege. If the attorney's referral service collects information from someone seeking a lawyer, the information is usually not kept secret, increasing the likelihood that the information provided to the referral service will be found by the other party in subsequent litigation.
The attorney referral service may have minimum requirements for participation, and in some cases may not verify qualifications or attorney credentials. As a result, it is still necessary for someone using a referral service to investigate lawyers' qualifications before retaining a lawyer.
Some controversy also arises from whether professional anti-competitive referral services in nature. For example, because the Board Certified Lawyers often charge higher hourly rates than other competent general practitioners, if the Lawyer Referral Service requires Board Certification for certain types of referrals, rather than simply giving the public a choice between a Board certified attorney and a competent attorney who not certified by the Council, the effect may be to limit competition and limit public choice and boost consumer prices. The state bar, which licenses lawyers, may be involved in limiting the choice of clients.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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