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  • InsideTrack
  • February 04, 2009

    Grow your clientele and serve the public; join the State Bar's referral service and save

    Feb. 4, 2009 – Every year, more than 1,000 clients with identified legal needs and the ability to pay for legal assistance are unable to obtain a referral to an attorney through the State Bar’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS). In these cases, there are no LRIS panel attorneys in the counties where callers need help.

    Grow your clientele and serve the public: Join the State Bar's referral service and save


    Feb. 4, 2009 – Every year, more than 1,000 clients with identified legal needs and the ability to pay for legal assistance are unable to obtain a referral to an attorney through the State Bar’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS). In these cases, there are no LRIS panel attorneys in the counties where callers need help.

    “LRIS offers attorneys an easy way to serve the public, but also is ideal for attorneys who lack the time to market their services,” says LRIS Committee chair Janice Bensky of Madison. “The State Bar prescreens LRIS referrals saving lawyers even more time. It’s a win-win situation for both clients and attorneys.”

    Attorneys are especially needed in more rural counties; however, attorneys statewide are encouraged to register for the service. While the highest percentages of callers need administrative, consumer, criminal, family, real property, torts, labor, bankruptcy, estate planning, and business law help, LRIS seeks attorneys in all practice areas.

    How LRIS works. Lawyers who register can join two pools of referrals – phone and Internet. Web referrals account for more than 40 percent of the total referrals made, yet the Web site’s existence has not decreased the number of phone calls to the service, which remains at more than 40,000 annually.

    Experienced LRIS legal assistants evaluate callers’ needs and then either refer them to an attorney, a community or government resource, or the Lawyer Hotline, or answer basic questions.

    Participation in the Internet service is optional and included with LRIS registration at no additional charge. Users access LRIS through LegalExplorer.com, the State Bar’s consumer site, and receive referrals by selecting a legal practice area and geographic location. As with LRIS’s telephone referral service, online referrals are made on an impartial, county-by-county, rotation basis with both types of referrals. Clients contact attorneys directly to set up appointments.

    Join now and pay $47.50 through June 30, 2009 (half off the annual registration fee). Lawyers also can sign up for 18 months, through June 30, 2010, at $128.25 for an additional 10 percent savings. Lawyers admitted to practice between July 1, 2005 and Dec. 31, 2007, can join for $37.50, and lawyers admitted in 2008 can join for $22.50 (through June 30, 2009).

    To register, download a registration form or contact the State Bar at (800) 444-9404, ext. 6131.


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