Can a firm that screens cases for a county bar's legal aid program also take the cases that turn out not to qualify for free aid?

Plain-English summary

A small firm helped administer a county-wide legal aid and legal assistance program run by the county bar association. The firm interviewed everyone requesting aid, evaluated cases, and recommended to a bar committee whether a client should receive outright legal aid, paid legal assistance over time, or be told to retain private counsel. Cases were assigned to attorneys from a county-wide list on a rotating, alphabetical basis. The firm asked whether, as the screening office, it could properly handle cases that turned out to fall outside legal aid, either because they qualified as paid "legal assistance" or were ineligible for either category.

A majority of the committee concluded that the question related to a lawyer referral service that had to qualify with The Florida Bar under Article XIV of the Integration Rule, and that the committee therefore had no jurisdiction to answer; the county bar association should apply to The Florida Bar, whose approval of a charter to operate a referral service would be controlling. The committee saw no objection to the proposal for handling "legal aid" cases on a no-fee basis, citing DR 2-103(D)(1)(d).

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1972, before The Florida Bar's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. It applied DR 2-103(D)(1)(d) of the former Code of Professional Responsibility and Article XIV of the Integration Rule, which have since been replaced. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current Rules 4-7.22 and 4-6.1 before relying on any specific requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Did the committee answer whether the screening firm could take the non-aid cases?

A: No. A majority found the inquiry involved a lawyer referral service that had to qualify with The Florida Bar under the Integration Rule, so the committee had no jurisdiction to answer.

Q: Was handling the free legal aid cases itself a problem?

A: No. The committee said it saw no objection to handling the legal aid cases on a no-fee basis, citing DR 2-103(D)(1)(d).

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied DR 2-103(D)(1)(d) of the former Code of Professional Responsibility (recommendation of professional employment through legal aid and referral arrangements) and Article XIV of the Integration Rule governing approval of lawyer referral services. In current Florida practice referral services are governed by Rule 4-7.22 and pro bono and legal aid by Rule 4-6.1; the Model Rule analogues are Rules 7.2 and 6.1.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• CPR DR 2-103(D)(1)(d) (legal aid and referral arrangements)
• Integration Rule, Article XIV (approval of lawyer referral services)

See also

• FL Bar Ethics Op. 73-6: Court-Awarded Fees in Legal Aid Cases
• FL Bar Ethics Op. 02-8: Referral Fee From a Securities Dealer's Ancillary Business

Source

• Landing page: https://www.floridabar.org/etopinions/etopinion-72-31/
• Original PDF: https://www-media.floridabar.org/uploads/2017/04/FL-Bar-Ethics-Op-72-31-1-1.pdf

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

FLORIDA BAR ETHICS OPINION
OPINION 72-31
August 18, 1972
Advisory ethics opinions are not binding.
The Ethics Committee lacks jurisdiction to provide an answer to a question relating to a county bar association's lawyer referral service which has not yet qualified with The Florida Bar.
CPR: DR 2-103(D)(1)(d)
Integration Rule: Art. XIV
Chairman Clarkson stated the opinion of the committee:
A member of a small law firm which practices in a county of moderate size poses the following inquiry dealing with "legal aid or legal assistance."
In cooperation with the county bar association the firm has undertaken the administration of a county-wide legal aid and legal assistance program. The inquiring lawyer advises us in part as follows:
The administration of this program requires that this office interview every person requesting legal aid or legal assistance in this county. Legal Aid is an unfunded program, voluntarily operated by the county bar association, and consists of attorneys working without cost for clients who merely pay filing fees and other direct expenses. Legal Assistance is a program whereby clients pay the county's established minimum fee over a protracted period of time, on such terms as they may agree upon with their attorneys. Legal Assistance clients, of course, also pay all costs.
As the volunteer headquarters for this program, this office has the responsibility of evaluating cases and making recommendations to the county bar committee on how the aforementioned legal aid and legal assistance clients should be disposed of. The Committee can recommend either that a client be given outright legal aid or legal assistance, or that the client be informed he has sufficient means to retain private counsel on a nonlegal aid or legal assistance basis.
For the purpose of handling legal aid matters, a list of all attorneys in the county has been compiled. As legal aid cases become established, clients are assigned to attorneys from this list on a rotating (alphabetical) basis.
Our advice is sought whether the screening firm may with propriety handle any of the cases which prove to be outside the realm of legal aid, either because they qualify as "legal assistance" matters or because they are ineligible for either category of special assistance.
A majority of the Committee believes that the question submitted relates to a lawyer referral service which must qualify with The Florida Bar under Article XIV of the Integration Rule, as a result of which we have no jurisdiction to provide an answer. The county bar association should apply to The Florida Bar, whose approval of a charter to operate a lawyer referral service would be controlling.
The Committee sees no objection to the proposal for handling "legal aid" cases on a no-fee basis. See DR 2-103(D)(1)(d).