Rule change could open local lawyer referrals services to adjacent counties
The Board of Governors could soon be asked to approve a proposed amendment that would permit local bar association lawyer referral services to include attorneys in adjacent counties.
The proposed amendment to Rule 8-2.2 (Local Bar Association Sponsored Lawyer Referral Bylaws) would revise subdivision (b) “Membership Restricted to Geographic Area.”
It requires all members of a lawyer referral service to “maintain an office in the geographic area served by the proposed lawyer referral service.”
Executive directors with voluntary bars in Broward, Collier, and Lee counties say the restriction does a disservice to potential clients who may be geographically challenged.
“Sometimes the closest lawyer to a client or the relevant courthouse is in an adjacent county,” the sponsors argue. “For instance, in Lee County, the City of Bonita Springs is closer to Naples and the Collier County Courthouse than it is to Ft. Myers/Lee County Courthouse.”
But as the rule is currently written, “a lawyer with a Bonita Springs office could not provide services through Collier County’s LRS program,” the sponsors note.
Florida district court of appeal judges who live more than 50 miles from their main courthouses made a similar argument last year when they convinced lawmakers to authorize “alternate headquarters” in an adjacent county closer to their homes. The request did not include additional travel expenses, and the Legislature granted it without discussion or debate.
The local bar association executive directors also argue that sometimes their lawyer referral services lack a participating attorney whose practice area matches a potential client’s needs.
“But there are qualified attorneys in adjacent counties who would be willing to participate if permitted,” sponsors say. “As currently written, the LRS program cannot fill this need, despite having a relatively local attorney ready, willing, and able to participate.”
If the proposed changes were approved, subdivision (b) would state:
“All members of the lawyer referral service must maintain an office either within the geographic area served by the proposed lawyer referral service or a county directly adjacent to that geographic area.”
It would continue, “This geographic restriction does not prohibit a lawyer from being a member of more than 1 lawyer referral service if the member maintains an office within the geographic area served by each lawyer referral service or an adjacent county.”
The proposal was publicly noticed on the Bar News website on October 15. It appears on first reading on the Board of Governors agenda for a December 5 meeting in Orlando.
That means the board could take final action as soon as the next meeting, January 23 in Tallahassee.
The Supreme Court would make a final determination.
