Anne Arundel Bar Association
Lawyer Referral Panel
If you are looking for a way to build your practice through referrals, it's time to join the AABA's Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) panel. Each year, our LRIS staff receives about 1,800 calls from clients seeking legal assistance and refers them to members of our LRIS Attorney Panel.
• Download the LRIS Panel Member Application
• Download the LRIS Panel Card
How the Referral Service Works
Client Calls the Service. Our LRIS Coordinator speaks with each caller (or client) about his or her legal issue to determine the related area(s) of law. Once an area of law is identified, the Coordinator refers the client to the appropriate LRIS panel member based on the nature of the legal problem and the geographic location of the caller, as well as other considerations such as language spoken and financial hardship.The client is provided the name and telephone number of the LRIS panelist and advised to identify himself/herself to the attorney as an LRIS referral. The client is also informed that the $35 LRIS administrative fee will be payable at the time of the visit.
Referral is Transmitted. The LRIS Coordinator completes a Referral Record Form and emails a copy to the referred LRIS panel member. The panel member should return the completed form within 14 days of receipt, irrespective of client contact. If a conflict of any kind prevents the attorney from completing a discussion/consultation with the client, the client should be referred back to the LRIS.
Administrative Fee is Collected. The $35 administrative fee must be collected at the time of the client’s visit, unless the matter is undertaken by the attorney/firm on a contingent basis, or could reasonably be expected to be undertaken by another firm on a contingent basis.
Referral Fee. If a LRIS panel member retains a client referred by the LRIS, the attorney is required to remit a referral fee of ten percent to the Anne Arundel Bar Association on any case that generates fees in excess of $200.
Panelist Fees
♦ LRIS attorney membership is $180 per fiscal year for AABA members (July 1 to June 30). The annual fee for non-AABA members is $265.♦ As a fee-based service, the clients are required to submit an administrative fee of $35 to counsel on the day of the discussion/consultation. Counsel remits this sum to the AABA. Additionally, if an LRIS-referred client is retained by your firm and the fees collected total $200 or more, you must remit to the LRIS a referral fee of ten percent. All proceeds generated by the Lawyer Referral and Information Service are cycled back into the service for marketing, staffing, and technological improvements.
♦ The LRIS waives the $35 Client fee in Social Security/Disability, Personal Injury, and Worker’s Compensation matters, among other types of contingency cases.
Criteria
To join the LRIS, an attorney must:♦ Maintain a minimum of $100,000 in malpractice insurance.
♦ Have handled a minimum of two (2) cases to conclusion, or completed three (3) hours of Continuing Legal Education within the last eighteen (18) months for each practice for which the attorney wishes to receive referrals.
♦ Anne Arundel Bar Association membership is not a requirement for joining the LRIS.