ISBA Ethics Opinions on Lawyer Referral Services

An Illinois attorney would violate the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct by accepting clients from a for-profit, third-party client referral service that (1) charges clients a fixed fee for petty criminal and traffic offense cases, (2) pays a lawyer in the service’s network a portion of the fixed fee, and (3) offers a money-back guarantee to the client if the client does not “win” the case. Even if the referral service did not contain these problematic features, an Illinois attorney still would violate the Rules of Professional Conduct if the referral service is one that (a) fails to disclose the use of non-attorney actors in advertising directed to potential clients, or (b) requires the lawyers to communicate with clients on an online platform monitored by the referral service, with no guarantee of confidentiality and no apparent disclosure to and informed consent of the client. Further, using referral services such as those described in this opinion also would raise other problems, including the potential that the lawyer would be unable to comply with their obligations under the Rules of Professional Conduct with respect to the charging of fees, including the obligation to ensure the fee charged is a reasonable one.