PROPOSED LRS RULES / REGULATIONS

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Revised and approved: March 1997

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of the Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) is to provide a source through which a person may be referred to a lawyer who is able to render and interested in rendering legal services or to aid callers in finding other appropriate sources of legal assistance when necessary.

2. THE COMMITTEE

The Lawyer Referral Service Board Advisory Committee is a board level committee. Its duty is to oversee the operation of the LRS. Each year, one member of the Cincinnati Bar Association's Board of Trustees is assigned to the LRS as a liaison. The President of the Cincinnati Bar Association approves each member joining or continuing participant. The LRS Board Advisory Committee is comprised of a Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary. The committee meets the first Tuesday of every other month based upon our first meeting date for the new fiscal year. Meetings normally start at 12:00 noon, unless otherwise indicated. The committee adopts rules and reviews procedures for the operation of the LRS.

3. FORMATION OF THE PARTICIPANT MEMBER - PANEL

  1. To qualify for membership and placement in rotation, the attorney must:
    1. Maintain an office separate and distinct from any other business. If the lawyer's office is maintained in a residence, the office area must be separate and distinct from the living areas.
    2. Be actively engaged in the private practice of law.
    3. Carry and continue to carry, professional liability insurance in the amounts equal or greater than $100,000 for each claim with $300,000 aggregate as endorsed by the Cincinnati Bar Association. In the event the attorney has not received the declarations page from his/her insurance carrier by the expiration date of the policy, a self-certification form provided by the LRS must be used to maintain position in active rotation. Upon receipt of the declarations page, a copy must be sent to the LRS.
    4. Carry on any relationship with clients in a professional and businesslike manner in all respects.
    5. Abide by the rules and regulations of the LRS.
  2. Each panel member's actions with a referred client reflect not only on the panel member, but also upon the LRS and the Cincinnati Bar Association. Any panel member who has been referred must exercise professionalism in every contact in the relationship with the client, including but not limited to; prompt answering of calls or returning calls to client, maintaining voice mail capability and the writing of all correspondence to the client by the attorney, or the panelist's office staff.

4. REQUIREMENTS OF THE PARTICIPANT MEMBER - PANEL

  1. Each prospective panel member will submit an application and abide by these Rules and Regulations, and those listed on the registration form.
  2. The applicant must submit the listing on the application, those fields of law in which they meet the subject matter panel requirements to receive referrals.
  3. In accepting the registration form from any applicant, the LRS may require such information and certification, as it deems necessary.
  4. The LRS Board Advisory Committee reserves the right to conduct further investigations and require further information concerning the responsibility, capability, character and integrity of any applicant or participating member. The Committee may also require such information as necessary in accepting or continuing the registration of any applicant or participating member.
  5. The LRS Board Advisory Committee may refuse membership to the panel to an applicant if the Committee finds the applicant to be unsuitable for panel membership in the LRS.
  6. Each panel member agrees:
    1. To permit to a binding arbitration from the Fee Arbitration Committee of the Cincinnati Bar Association if any dispute concerning fees arise from a LRS referral.
    2. To grant all clients referred by the LRS a 30-minute consultation by phone or appointment as soon as practical after the potential client's request is made.
    3. To abide by all the rules and regulations of the LRS, and in no event hold, or claim to hold, the LRS or any of its officers, members or employees liable for the operation of, or use of the information contained in the member's application for the activities of the LRS.
    4. To annually certify that the panel member has not been suspended from the practice of law or found to be in violation of the Code of Professional Responsibility.
    5. To submit a new application and proof of liability insurance to the LRS if the panelist's place of employment, business address, or law firm association change, or change of areas of concentration.

5. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE LRS RULES

    1. An LRS applicant or participant may be denied registration or suspension from the panel by the LRS director if the applicant or participant fails to:
      • Pay any fee due LRS
      • Fail to report
      • Fail to carry liability insurance
      • Fail to maintain a proper office
    2. An applicant or participant denied registration or suspended under rule 5(A)(1) may apply to the LRS director for registration or reinstatement after proof that he/she has complied. The LRS Director, Executive Director of the CBA, or current LRS Board Advisory Committee Chair reserves the right to bring such matters before the LRS Board Advisory Committee for decision.
    1. An LRS applicant or participant may be denied registration or suspended from the panel by the LRS Committee if:
      1. He/she has signed any application or other certification or report to the LRS which has been found to be untrue in any material respect; or
      2. The LRS Committee receives notice or information giving it reasonable grounds to believe that a participant member does not meet the reasonable standards of responsibility, ability character or integrity
      3. Fails to abide by the Code of Professional Responsibility
      4. Is arrested or indicted for any offense, notwithstanding the attorney's ability to practice law.
      5. Has been investigated by a certified grievance committee or the Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Ohio Supreme Court and a probable cause panel of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline of the Supreme Court of Ohio has found that probable cause exists for the filing of a formal complaint against the LRS participant, or a grievance matter has reached a substantially similar point of investigation in another jurisdiction
    2. Before finding any violation of 5 (B)(1), the LRS Committee must provide an applicant or participant an opportunity to be heard, including providing reasonable notice and a hearing. At the hearing, a majority vote of the LRS Committee members present will be necessary to deny registration or suspend an applicant or participant for violation of Rule 5 (B)(1)
    3. An applicant or participant denied registration or suspended under rule 5 (B)(1) may apply to the LRS Committee for registration reinstatement on the panel. Reinstatement shall be permitted upon the approval of the majority of the members of the LRS Committee present at the next scheduled meeting.
  3. All matters rising out of Rules 5 (A) (B) above concerning panel members will be held confidential and will be referred to the Bar Counsel of the Cincinnati Bar Association where appropriate.

6. OPERATION OF THE PANEL

  1. Referrals shall be made to listed attorneys in the order in which their names appear in the rotational system established.
  2. Panel members will accept any referral for the initial interview, which can be held in the attorney's office or by telephone, except for those matters, which the member has indicated in their application that they are unwilling to handle. However, should any referral give rise to a conflict of interest, a panel member will advise the client to contact the LRS for a new referral. Nothing herein will be construed to obligate a panel member to accept employment beyond the initial consultation.
  3. The panel member should not make the first contact with the client.
  4. Each panel member agrees to interview the client and, except in extraordinary situations, not to refer a prospective client to another attorney. If the situation is deemed extraordinary, the panel member agrees to first contact the LRS before referring the client to another attorney.
  5. Except as provided in Rule 6(D) the panel member may not refer an LRS client to another attorney. He or she may share or delegate work on the client's behalf with another attorney only if the panel member remains the client's counsel-of-record and lead counsel, and oversees the shared or delegated work performed on the client's behalf. The panel member remains responsible for remitting to LRS 15% of the entire legal fee charged to the client, regardless of the extent to which work on the client's behalf was shared or delegated. The referred attorney will disclose to co-counsel that the referral was obtained by the LRS, and they shall be responsible for remittance of 15% of entire legal fees they charge to the LRS.
  6. A panel member rejecting initial referrals for any reason will be moved to the bottom of rotation.
  7. A panel member can only receive referrals at a location where the member maintains a law office. Each panel member may select where satellite offices are located, but can only be listed once in rotation.
  8. The internal operation of the LRS will be under the direction of the LRS Director and the Executive Director of the Cincinnati Bar Association.

7. ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND REPORT OF - REFERRALS

The participating member will complete and return any referral report forwarded by the LRS staff within 30 days. Failure to return the time requested reports or memorandums by the specified date will result in the LRS removing the participating member from rotation until delinquent forms are completed, or removal from panel under Rule 5 (A)(1). Nothing herein will require any attorney to violate the attorney-client privilege.

8. DUES

Each participating member of the LRS will pay to the LRS an annual membership of $150.00 (CBA Members) or $375.00 (CBA Non-Members) by the due date. The CBA's fiscal year end April 30th of each year. Dues not paid by that date will result in existing membership lapse and removal from panel.

COMMISSIONS:
Each participant member shall pay to the LRS 15% of the total fee of $200.00 or more received for services performed for each referred client. Payment shall be due to the LRS within 30 days after receipt by the attorney. The percentage fee requirement will last as long as the attorney continues to collect on a referral case or companion case. A companion case is defined as:

“A client or clients previously referred to an attorney by the LRS who returns for a matter rising out of the original set of circumstances/facts.”

LRS panelist are required to pay the LRS 15% of the total fees received from client/clients for the initial case without time limit, and all companion cases, which include all work “in progress” and that work which is subject to billing to the client.

Nothing in this rule obligates an attorney to pay a referral fee to the LRS when a client returns to the attorney on a different and unrelated matter following the conclusion of the matter for which the client received the initial referral.

9. RECORDS

The LRS will keep on file a confidential record of all applicants, referrals, and reports of participant members, which will be subject to examination and inspection by the LRS Board Advisory Committee, CBA disciplinary counsel, and the staff of the LRS, and my be subject to subpoena.

10. PUBLICITY

  1. The LRS shall develop and maintain an active publicity program using communications media best designed to inform the general public in the Greater Cincinnati area of the existence, purpose and advantages of the LRS and the kinds of information and services available. Whenever possible, the public should be informed as to when to seek legal advice.
  2. The form and content of all publicity regarding the LRS shall be dignified and consistent with recognized principles of legal ethics within Ohio and shall not be false, deceptive, or misleading.

11. MAXIMUM FEE TO BE CHARGED TO CLIENT

  1. Each client shall pay an initial fee of not more than $30.00, provided the initial consultation does not exceed one half-hour. The fee for additional services after the first half-hour is to be determined by mutual agreement between the client and participant member. The prospective client will be so informed at the time the referral is made.
  2. Every participant member shall establish his/her fees in accordance with the spirit and the letter of the provisions of Disciplinary Rule 2-106 of the Ohio Code of Professional Responsibility.

12. AREA OF PRACTICE

A classification of legal services will be published, from which a participant member can delineate the services for which the member will be available. Attorneys must practice actively in the areas of law designed on their application. The Supreme Court of Ohio amended the Code of Professional Responsibility effective July 1, 1996. Rule DR2-103 (C)(1)(g), now mandates that Lawyer Referral Services must “establish subject-matter panels, eligibility for which shall be determined on the basis of experience and other substantial objectively determinable criteria.” In order to receive referrals in these areas of the law, you must meet standards set forth by the LRS Board Advisory Committee. Those requirements are available through the LRS. Any changes in your area of law must be made in writing to the LRS.

13. PANELS FOR SPECIAL GROUPS

Rules for the Attorneys for the Marginally Indigent (AMI), or any other programs or groups recognized by the LRS Committee are published separately, and are incorporated here by reference. Such rules may be implemented, enforced, changed or terminated by resolution of the LRS Committee or the Executive Committee of the Cincinnati Bar Association.

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