The services of reference lawyers and their close link with advertising
The reality of today’s world is that everything revolves around advertising, whether good or bad and the legal field is not exempt from this and there are offers for everything. There are two ways to generate customers by reference, the traditional one that is word of mouth, by comments and recommendations made by family and friends. And currently the one that leads the market is advertising through the digital medium. There are a number of companies that, for the low fee of $ 500 a month offer to publish the name of certain lawyers there in order to promote them.
The harsh reality is that in today’s world, you have to advertise to get customers. And studies show that people have stopped using the phone book and prefer to use Google and other search engines today. But, to appear and shine in that medium, you must pay. It’s a worthwhile investment or not, as even lawyers can be extorted by the companies they’re supposed to advocate for. Some of these referral lawyer services firms violate the Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.
It should be noted that an alarming number of reference lawyer service companies that are not certified and publish misleading offers, so they must invest millionaire sums in advertising.
A certified referral attorney service must include in any advertising or other promotional effort a statement stating that that service is certified as an attorney referral service as required by the State of California.
A licensed and trained attorney who maintains an office in a certain geographic area served by a referral attorney service may receive referrals from potential clients of the service if the attorney pays a reasonable registration and membership fee not to exceed the amount established by the rules of the state bar.
But sometimes prices end up being anything but reasonable, for both lawyers and clients. An attorney cannot charge a referred potential client for an amount that exceeds the total cost the client would have to pay, including legal fees and expenses, if a referral service had not referred the client. Fees vary by state, generally initial consultations if not free can cost about $30 to pay service work bills and to continue funding service activities, including the provision of pro bono legal services. Perhaps such a fee is intended for some noble cause. But nowhere is it specified where the money goes, especially companies that are not certified by the State Bar. Some lawyers prefer not to charge referral fees as it can harm the business and professional relationship between lawyers.
Another major problem arises if the lawyer tries to avoid paying the referral fee or refuses to pay it at all. And boy do they invent any kind of excuse for not paying the reference rate. It would be violating the ethical rules of reasonableness and fee-sharing. Most state bars do not discipline lawyers for violating referral fee commitments, particularly those made informally, by bypassing state rules. And Filing a breach of contract lawsuit means paying for a plaintiff’s attorney, the cost of court, and the time lost from going to court.
A serious and responsible lawyer would never put his reputation at risk. While you risk wasting time and money playing the lottery with referral lawyer services firms that sometimes do not strictly choose most lawyers, including those who break the law by avoiding paying a referral fee, whose clients come mainly from a group of people who were manipulated by mass advertising.
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Abogado Contigo can help you in that. We will take charge of leveling the situation because we know perfectly well the tactics that insurance companies use. We will know how to negotiate the compensation you deserve – we will even take your claim to court in case the insurance company refuses to negotiate fairly.
The decision to hire a personal injury attorney in the state of California is vitally important. What factors must be taken into account when choosing it? Experience and proven results are two very important factors. Attorney Contigo has a combined experience of more than 30 years helping people collect appropriate compensation in personal injury cases for other people’s negligence in California and the metropolitan area of Orange and California counties. In fact, we focus all our knowledge in the area of personal injury.