 |
Join the Lawyer Referral and Information Service
2013
Application
Overview of Program
The LRIS has been serving the public for over 30 years
and is designed to fill in the gaps where a local bar is not
coordinating a referral panel. Currently our service covers 44 out of
the 62 counties in NYS. Eligible attorneys must have a physical office
in one of our service counties*. (Attorneys
practicing outside of our coverage area are encouraged to join their
local bar’s referral panel. If our service gets a referral request
outside our coverage area we refer the caller to the appropriate local
bar. Last year we referred 8,186 callers to local bar referral
programs.)
Lawyers who are members of the
LRIS pay an annual fee of $75 ($125 for non-NYSBA members). Proof of
malpractice insurance in the minimum amount of $100,000 is required of
all participants. If you are retained by a referred
client, you agree to pay the LRIS 10% of the entire fee
for any case of $500 or more.
Contact Eva Valentin-Espinal
(evalentin@nysba.org) Coordinator of the Lawyer Referral and
Information Service for more information.
How we screen calls and refer clients
The LRIS staff receives more than 100
calls per day from members of the public seeking legal assistance. These
calls are screened by our staff to elicit pertinent information
regarding the nature of their legal problem. Callers that would be more
appropriately helped by other organizations, such as other bar referral
services, legal aid societies, or governmental agencies are given
contact information for these offices.
Callers needing the advice of an
attorney, and who can afford to pay a private attorney, are referred to
LRIS panel members on a rotating basis. They are told to expect a ½
hour in-office $35 consultation fee, and to be sure to mention that they
were referred by the New York State Bar Association’s Lawyer
Referral Service. After the initial consultation the attorney sets
their own fees.
Attorneys are notified by e-mail when a
referral has been made. A hard copy of the referral with follow-up
questions is mailed to both the client and the attorney.
Questions? Call 1 (800) 342-3661 or
e-mail lr@NYSBA.org
Apply
to Subject Matter Panels
*Participating attorneys must have an office in one of the
following counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua,
Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Essex,
Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis,
Livingston, Madison, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Ontario, Orleans,
Oswego, Otsego, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady,
Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren,
Washington, Wayne, Wyoming, Yates.
|
