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Rule 4-7.10  Lawyer Referral Services

(a) When Lawyers May Accept Referrals. A lawyer shall not accept referrals from a lawyer referral service unless the service:

    (1) engages in no communication with the public and in no direct contact with prospective clients in a manner that would violate the Rules of Professional Conduct if the communication or contact were made by the lawyer;

    (2) receives no fee or charge that constitutes a division or sharing of fees, unless the service is a not-for-profit service approved by The Florida Bar pursuant to chapter 8 of these rules;

    (3) refers clients only to persons lawfully permitted to practice law in Florida when the services to be rendered constitute the practice of law in Florida;

    (4) carries or requires each lawyer participating in the service to carry professional liability insurance in an amount not less than $100,000 per claim or occurrence;

    (5) furnishes The Florida Bar, on a quarterly basis, with the names and Florida bar membership numbers of all lawyers participating in the service;

    (6) furnishes The Florida Bar, on a quarterly basis, the names of all persons authorized to act on behalf of the service;

    (7) responds in writing, within 15 days, to any official inquiry by bar counsel when bar counsel is seeking information described in this subdivision or conducting an investigation into the conduct of the service or an attorney who accepts referrals from the service;

    (8) neither represents nor implies to the public that the service is endorsed or approved by The Florida Bar, unless the service is subject to chapter 8 of these rules;

    (9) uses its actual legal name or a registered fictitious name in all communications with the public; and

    (10) affirmatively states in all advertisements that it is a lawyer referral service.

(b) Responsibility of Lawyer. A lawyer who accepts referrals from a lawyer referral service is responsible for ensuring that any advertisements or written communications used by the service comply with the requirements of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, and that the service is in compliance with the provisions of this subchapter.

(c) Definition of Lawyer Referral Service. A "lawyer referral service" is:

    (1) any person, group of persons, association, organization, or entity that receives a fee or charge for referring or causing the direct or indirect referral of a potential client to a lawyer drawn from a specific group or panel of lawyers; or

    (2) any group or pooled advertising program operated by any person, group of persons, association, organization, or entity wherein the legal services advertisements utilize a common telephone number and potential clients are then referred only to lawyers or law firms participating in the group or pooled advertising program.

A pro bono referral program, in which the participating lawyers do not pay a fee or charge of any kind to receive referrals or to belong to the referral panel, and are undertaking the referred matters without expectation of remuneration, is not a lawyer referral service within the definition of this rule.

COMMENT

    Every citizen of the state should have ready access to the legal system. A person's access to the legal system is enhanced by the assistance of a lawyer qualified to handle that person's legal needs. Many of the citizens of the state who are potential consumers of legal services encounter difficulty in identifying and locating lawyers who are willing and qualified to consult with them about their legal needs. Lawyer referral services can facilitate the identification and intelligent selection of lawyers qualified to render assistance. However, because a potential for abuse exists, the participation of lawyers in referral services must be regulated to ensure protection of the public.

    It is in the public interest that a person seeking the assistance of counsel receive accurate information to select or be matched with counsel qualified to render the needed services. Therefore, a lawyer should not participate in a lawyer referral service that communicates misleading information to the public or that directly contacts prospective clients about available legal services in a manner that constitutes impermissible solicitation.

    One who avails oneself of legal services is well served only if those services are rendered by a lawyer who exercises independent legal judgment. The division or sharing of a fee risks the creation of an obligation that impairs a lawyer's ability to exercise independent legal judgment. Therefore, the public interest usually compels the ethical prohibition against the division or sharing of fees and that ethical prohibition should likewise apply to the division or sharing of fees with a lawyer referral service. The prohibition does not extend to the lawyer's paying a pre-arranged, fixed-sum participation fee. Furthermore, the prohibition does not apply when the referring agency is a not-for-profit service operated by a bona fide state or local bar association under the supervision of and approved by The Florida Bar in order to ensure that such service fulfills the public-interest purposes of a lawyer referral service and to ensure that the risk of impairment of the lawyer's ability to exercise independent legal judgment is in that circumstance minimal.

    It is in the public interest that a person receive legal services only from someone who is qualified to render them. Lawyers should strive to prevent harm resulting from the rendering of legal services by persons not legally qualified to do so. Therefore, a lawyer should not participate in a lawyer referral service that refers clients to persons not lawfully permitted to practice law in Florida when the services to be rendered constitute the practice of law in Florida.

    The quasi-institutionalization of legal services by a lawyer referral service implies that the service has screened the qualifications and financial responsibility of its participating lawyers. That implication may be misleading and does not exist when a prospective client directly selects a lawyer at arm's length. Therefore, it is in the public interest that only lawyers who have established a certain amount of financial responsibility for professional liability participate in a lawyer referral service. Accordingly, a lawyer should participate in a lawyer referral service only if the service requires proof of that financial responsibility.

    To enable The Florida Bar to fulfill its obligation to protect the public from unethical or other improper conduct by those who practice law in Florida, The Florida Bar must have available to it the identity of all lawyers participating in a lawyer referral service. Therefore, a lawyer should participate in a lawyer referral service only if the service furnishes The Florida Bar with the names of its participating lawyers.

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