Our Chicago partner Kevin Trabaris discusses referral services in an article by Chicago Lawyer which explores the ARDC proposing new regulations for attorney referral platforms to open up the middle class of potential clients.
Here are some excerpts from Kevin’s interview:
In 2011, Kevin Trabaris signed up for Avvo, an online attorney referral service, as he branched out to start his own firm. Trabaris, a corporate and commercial finance transactional attorney, soon discovered that the platform funneled small businesses and consumers to him.
Reflecting on the experience, Trabaris, who is now partner and financial services chair at Culhane & Meadows, believes such platforms have value for other practice areas. Trabaris admittedly works with more lenders and other financial institutions.
“There’s certainly a lot of lawyers [whose] practice areas, for instance… personal injury — there’s a whole variety of different practice areas that could be helped by using the site, but mine isn’t really one of them,” Trabaris said.
As digital platforms emerge to connect consumers with attorneys seeking clients, the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission has proposed new regulations for attorney referral platforms, which will impact how attorneys using these platforms can do so in an ethical manner.
In 2020, consumers, in theory, can search online for an attorney for a legal predicament and find results within a fraction of a second. But despite the presence of bar association and digital attorney referral services, the gap between consumers in need of legal assistance and the attorneys equipped to represent them persists.
The complete article can be found here.
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