The LegalMatch System is Not a Pre-Paid Legal Plan
The LegalMatch system is not a pre-paid legal plan. A typical pre-paid legal plan is actually an insurance policy, regulated by the insurance commissioner of each state. The consumer members of the plan pay a premium to be covered by the plan, and, if they need an attorney, the plan pays the attorney’s fees. LegalMatch is not an insurance company and does not collect any premiums from its consumer users; for that matter, consumers do not pay for using the LegalMatch service, unless they opt for priority or real-time service.
Investing in a LegalMatch Membership Does Not Violate the Rule Against Giving Anything of Value for Recommending an Attorney’s Services.
Paying the membership fee to join LegalMatch does not violate the rule against attorneys giving something of value for recommending the attorney’s services. Most jurisdictions’ ethics rules are based upon the ABA Model Rules, and typically have the same naming and numbering convention. In particular, Rule 7.2 or some form of it, usually prohibits an attorney from “giving anything of value to another for recommending the lawyer’s services . . .”
A lawyer referral service, for example, recommends the lawyer’s services by picking the attorney’s name from the rotation list and providing the name, telephone number and address to the caller. LegalMatch never recommends a specific lawyer’s services and never provides anyone with the name or contact information of a member attorney. To the contrary, LegalMatch simply advertises that prospective clients can present their case anonymously and confidentially. It is then up to the member attorneys to respond directly to the prospective clients with whom they are interested in working, and for the member attorneys to provide the prospective client with their contact information.
For example, the North Carolina State Bar Ethics Committee held, in Formal Opinion 2004-1, that:
“Nevertheless, the company's on-line service is not strictly a referral service and failure to meet all of conditions set forth in Rule 7.2(d) should not prohibit a lawyer from participating. Unlike the passive recipient of a referral from a lawyer referral service, a user of the company's website must evaluate the information and offers he receives from potentially suitable lawyers and decide for himself which lawyer to contact. Thus, the potential harm to the consumer of a pure lawyer referral service is avoided because the company does not decide which lawyer is right for the client.” Emphasis added.
Because LegalMatch does not recommend the services of any specific attorney (rather, it is each member attorney that makes the initial and only communication regarding the attorney’s background or practice), the attorney is not giving anything of value to LegalMatch for recommending the attorney’s services.
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