Reader comments
Need to hire a lawyer? New Web site can help

I hope this works better for the public than their previous lawyer matching service. You would pay money, then more money for a quick response, then never hear anything from them. Sound like a lawyer? The bar said that's all they could do.

One of the Bar ethics rules most injurious to the public prohibits lawyers from initiating legal representation directly (i.e., one-on-one) with a potential client. Lawyer advertising is allowed in a "mass" setting, such as billboards, mass mailings or television, but not by a single lawyer or firm to a single client. This is a vestige of the prohibition against "ambulance chasing," to prevent an unscrupulous lawyer from taking advantage of a client whose judgment is impaired because of emotional or physical injury. This rule needs to be modified to allow, at least, some direct contact or solicitation. One example would be to allow the attorney to offer estate planning (making a will or trust, etc.)to an individual, with prohibitions against misleading information or bothersome repeat contact. In the meantime, the majority of Americans die without a will, contributing to unnecessary estate settement costs and their assets going to the wrong people.

MAYHEM MIKE,

So what is your point, precisely? I take it that you are a lawyer -- you devoted 13 lines of text to make a point, and yet no one, including me, can decipher what was your point. If there was a point, how does it address the bar's new website?

LEGALEAGLE: I applaud the Bar for creating the web site. It is needed and will provide a valuable resource to help people find the legal expertise they need. However, a loosening of the rule prohibiting a lawyer from soliciting a client directly might also help--IF--misleading or coercive solicitation is prevented.