SC Bar

RULES OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAWYER REFERRAL SERVICE

PREAMBLE: The South Carolina Bar recognizes that there exists within the general public individuals who need assistance finding legal counsel.  In order to respond to the needs of those persons, it is the decision of the South Carolina Bar that a lawyer referral service be established.

 I.          OBJECTIVES

 The immediate objective of the South Carolina Bar in the establishment of the South Carolina Lawyer Referral Service (Service) is to assist the general public by providing a way in which any person who can afford to pay a reasonable fee for legal services may be referred to a practicing member of the South Carolina Bar who agrees to provide consultations in specific areas of practice and to maintain professional liability coverage.

 As long range objectives, the South Carolina Bar seeks to:

(A)       Urge lawyers to recognize the obligation to provide legal services at a reasonable fee to all persons.

(B)       Acquaint people who have questions about the law or about their legal rights, or who believe they are in need of legal services, with the importance of consultation with a lawyer.

II.        THE SERVICE

The Service will be operated from the offices of the South Carolina Bar, utilizing the staff and under general supervision of the Executive Director.  When appropriate, a person seeking a lawyer will be referred to a member of the Service on a rotating basis upon the agreement of such person to pay an initial consultation fee of up to $50, provided the initial consultation does not exceed one-half hour.  The Service will not charge the public for referrals.

III.       MEMBERSHIP

(A)       Any active member in good standing before the South Carolina Bar may apply for membership if he or she has at least three years of experience in the area of practice for which he or she seeks referrals.

(B)       Applicants will be grouped by county.

(C)       In accepting the registration of any applicant, the Service may require such information and certification as it deems necessary to demonstrate the applicant's qualification to practice and adherence to recognized ethical standards of the profession.

(D)       An applicant, in filing the application, agrees:

1.         To grant an initial consultation for a fee as set by the South Carolina Bar Board of Governors to any client referred by the Service, provided the conference does not exceed one-half hour; however, if, after initial contact with the applicant or applicant's office, the client and applicant agree that the consultation would not be beneficial, the applicant is under no further obligation to the client.

2.         Any charges for further services will be as agreed upon with the client, clearly explained to the client and set forth in writing.

3.         To carry, and continue to carry, professional liability insurance in the amount of $100,000 minimum, or such additional amount as may be set by the Board of Governors.

4.         To grant all clients referred by the Service an appointment or respond in writing as soon as practicable after request is made, subject to the provisions of IV,(D)(1) above.

5.         To abide by all of the rules of the Service and in no event hold, or claim to hold, the South Carolina Bar or any of its officers, members or employees liable in connection with the operation of the Service or use of the information contained in the application in connection with the activities of the Service.

6.         To hold harmless and indemnify the Service, the South Carolina Bar, or any of its officers, members or employees for any claims arising out of the acts of the member.

IV.       AREAS OF COMPETENCY

(A)       All applicants shall certify that they have at least three years of experience in and are competent in the areas in which referrals are desired.  Rule 1.1, SCACR, states "a lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client.  Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation."

(B)       The Executive Director will identify the practice areas that may be selected. The Executive Director will endeavor to be comprehensive enough in delineation of practice areas to be helpful to potential clients while limiting the number of choices available to avoid confusion.

(C)       Applicants shall select the areas of practice in which they receive referrals.  No applicant may select all areas.  The Executive Director will seek input from the sections and committees of the Bar in arriving at standards for various areas for practice, and may require certification of competency based upon such standards.  The Executive Director or designated staff may determine the number of areas that may be selected.

V.         FEES FOR MEMBERSHIP

(A)       Each member of the Service will pay to the South Carolina Bar a non-refundable annual membership of $50 for each county from which the member wishes to receive referrals. The fiscal year begins July 1 of each year, and there is no fee adjustment for membership application made after this date except that persons admitted to the South Carolina Bar during the course of the year who meet other requirements of the Service may be admitted for $25 per county.  Such fee will be used to defray the costs of the operation of the Service.

(B)       Each member will make an additional payment of 10% of the collected net legal fee (excluding itemized expenses and disbursements and excluding the first $250), payable within 30 days of receipt of any payment by or on behalf of the client.  This obligation applies to fees recovered as a result of any and all actions or proceedings arising out of the same set of facts or circumstances that were the basis for the original referral, i.e., if the client seeks a referral for a Workers' Compensation matter and it becomes clear that the client has a third party claim arising out of the same accident.  It does not apply to separate, unrelated legal matters for which the client may seek counsel, i.e., if the client seeks a referral for drafting a will, but asks questions about a recent auto accident in which his daughter received injuries.

(C)       A client referred to a member by the Service may not be charged a fee for legal services in excess of the fees charged for similar work done for the lawyer's other clients. The fees charged to a client referred by the Service shall not be increased by reason of the obligation of the member to remit a percentage of the collected net.

(D)       Each member by association of counsel or accepting a referral fee, or otherwise,  who retains a financial interest in a referred case, is responsible for seeing that the fee is remitted at the conclusion of the case, as provided in VI (B) above.

VI.       WITHDRAWAL/SUSPENSION FROM MEMBERSHIP

(A)       A member at any time may withdraw his name from participation in the Service upon written notice to the Lawyer Referral Service Director, addressed to the South Carolina Bar Lawyer Referral Service.

(B)       A member who voluntarily withdraws or is suspended under the provisions of Section C below shall not be entitled to a refund of the enrollment fee; shall not be relieved of the duty to dispose of, in accordance with standard practices, any pending case or obligation incurred during membership; and shall not be relieved of any obligation to pay the portion of any fee for cases referred prior to withdrawal or suspension.

(C)       Any applicant will be denied registration and any Service member will be suspended from the Service if the lawyer has:

1.         willfully failed to pay to the Service any fee, timely render any report after reasonable notice, or otherwise abide by the rules of the Service;

2.         signed any application or other certification or report to the Service which shall be found to be untrue in any material respect;

3.         resigned from the practice of law in South Carolina;

4.         ever been suspended or disbarred for disciplinary reasons from the practice of law in South Carolina, even if reinstated.

(D)       Notwithstanding the foregoing, if at any time the LRS Director receives notice or information giving him or her reasonable grounds to believe that a panel member does not meet the required standards of responsibility, capability, character and integrity, he or she may recommend suspension of the Service member from participation, with concurrence of the Public Services Director. Appeals shall be made to the Board of Governors in writing.

VII.      OPERATION OF THE SERVICE

(A)       Referrals will be made to members in rotation in the county requested by the client.  If no member is listed for the area of practice in which the referral is requested, the referral will be made in the county closest to that requested by the client.  Each month, members will be sent a listing of referrals made to them since the previous report.

(B)       A member will accept for initial review any matter that comes within an area in which he or she is willing to handle referrals.  The member will identify for the potential client any conflict of interest. Nothing herein will be construed to obligate a member to accept employment beyond the initial consultation.

(C)       Consultation with a partner or associate of the member by the client will be deemed an acceptance of the referral for initial interview by a member.

(D)       A client will not be referred to a member outside the county where the client is located unless the client either requests or agrees to such an arrangement.

(E)       The member may notify the Service if there is a period of time of one week or more in which the member will be unavailable for referrals because of vacations, trials or other reasons.  Failure to do so may cause the member to lose place in the rotation order on the list.

(F)        A caller will be limited to three (3) separate referrals within a time period deemed reasonable by the Service, subject to modification only in the event of circumstances beyond the caller’s control.

VIII.    OUT-OF-STATE REFERRALS

(A)       When a referral is made for an out-of-state caller who cannot go to the member's office for an appointment, the caller will be directed to forward payment of the consultation fee to the member, either before or simultaneous to presentation of the caller's legal matters.

(B)       If contact with the member is to be by mail, the member agrees to respond in writing, but is not obligated to spend more time in doing so than would have been spent for an office appointment.

IX.       ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND REPORT OF REFERRALS

The member will complete and return a referral report, forwarded by the Service, within thirty days after each referral.  The report will state whether representation will be undertaken on behalf of the caller, the representation was rejected, or the potential client was never seen.  Nothing herein will require any member to violate the lawyer-client privilege.

X.         RECORDS AND REVIEW

(A)       The Service may make regular and consistent attempts to obtain information, which will enable the Service to discover: 1) if the caller contacted the lawyer's office, 2) if the referred caller was satisfied with the lawyer's handling of the case, and 3) if all monies owed to the Service have been paid.

(B)       Monies owed the Service shall constitute a debt owed to the Bar and be subject to section 3.3 of the Bar's Constitution which requires payment before a tender of license fees can be accepted.

(C)       The Service will keep for two years or longer a confidential record of all referrals, which will be subject to examination and inspection by the Executive Director, the lawyer to whom a referral was made, the Board of Governors of the South Carolina Bar and the Commission on Lawyer Conduct.

XI.       PUBLICITY

The Executive Director will have general discretion to determine how to best publicize the Service in order to fulfill its objectives consistent with the Rules of Professional Conduct.

XII.      OVERSIGHT

The Board of Governors shall review the program's performance.  On recommendation of appropriate staff, the Board annually may adjust all provisions set forth herein, including qualifications for membership in the Service, consultation fees, areas of practice, county registration fees, percentage of remittance and threshold before the percentage applies.

XIII.    FUNDS

All monies received by the Service shall be used in its operation and promotion to the extent practicable.  Surplus funds, at the discretion of the Board, may be applied to support delivery of civil legal services to indigents, support law related education programs, support other public service activities of the Bar and be invested in capital improvements.