In an opinion issued on March 8, 2018, the Florida Supreme Court amended the lawyer referral rules under 4-7.22 making significant changes to the rule by broadening definitions, categorizing referral companies as “qualifying providers” and “matching services”, and removing the requirement that lawyer referral services include a disclaimer.
The newly amended rule 4-7.22 continues to require lawyers who participate in referral services to ensure that the service is in full compliance with The Florida Bar rules and prohibits fee splitting between lawyers and referral companies. The amended rule broadens the scope of the term “qualifying providers” to include online platforms like LegalZoom alongside traditional referral services such as 411 Pain. The amendments to the rule will become effective on April 30, 2018.
The Court rejected The Florida Bar’s revised referral rule in 2015, stating that private referral companies should only be owned by members of the Bar. Despite adopting the Bar’s proposed rule amendments, the Court’s opinion expresses an ongoing “concern with how some lawyer referral services operate in Florida, especially those that refer clients to other professionals and occupational disciplines for services arising from the same incident.” The Court further directed the Bar to “submit a petition within ninety days proposing amendments to rule 4-7.22, and any other rule necessary” that will address the Special Committee on Lawyer Referral Services’ belief that “additional measures are needed to ensure the public is not exposed to harm.”
Read the opinion here.
