Online Legal Matching Systems Are Not a Lawyer Referral Service.
A “lawyer referral service” or a “lawyer referral program” is a well-defined system that is used extensively throughout the country by state and local bar organizations. In addition, the ABA Model Rules identify and describe ideal lawyer referral program attributes, and sets forth certain criteria that lawyer referral programs should meet.
A lawyer referral program typically receives call-ins from the public, seeking legal help. The answering personnel (“operator”) speak directly with the individual and form an opinion about what type of legal assistance is needed. About a third of the callers need help from a state or federal agency, or from a legal aid clinic or other pro bono program, and are directed accordingly. The other callers pay a fee (usually between $25 and $50) and are given the name of the next attorney on the rotational list who are identified as practicing in the area of law that the operator believes may be appropriate.
The caller is then obliged to call the attorney and make an appointment. At the appointment, the attorney and caller then spend time determining whether or not the caller has a case, and whether the attorney is the right attorney. If the caller does not engage the attorney, the caller then has to call the referral service again, and get the name of the next attorney in rotation. This inefficient and time-consuming process repeats itself until the caller finds an attorney to engage.
The attorneys who belong to the lawyer referral program pay an annual membership fee of between $50 and $400, and also may pay a fee to the lawyer referral service on fees they earn from the clients referred to them through the service. This “referral fee” is usually between 10% and 20% of all fees paid by the client to the lawyer.
Online legal matching services like LegalMatch do not refer its attorney members to its consumers; rather, the consumers invite attorney responses by presenting their case through an online questionnaire, and the attorneys respond directly to those prospective clients with whom they are sincerely interested in working.
In a recent formal opinion, the North Carolina State Bar Ethics Committee held specifically that the LegalMatch system is not a lawyer referral service. (See, North Carolina Formal Ethics Opinion 2004-1). Although the Opinion does not mention LegalMatch by name, we understand that it originated under a request about LegalMatch, and it accurately describes how LegalMatch operates.
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