Ohio Gov.Bar R. XVI

Section 1. Requirements for Lawyer Referral and Information Services.

(A) A lawyer referral and information service operating in Ohio shall comply with all

of the following:

(1) Operate in the public interest for the purpose of referring prospective clients to

lawyers, pro bono and public service programs, and government, consumer, or other agencies who

can provide the assistance the clients need in light of their financial circumstance, spoken language,

any disability, geographical convenience, and the nature and complexity of their problem;

(2) Call itself a lawyer referral service or a lawyer referral and information service;

(3) Be open to all lawyers who are licensed and admitted to the practice of law in Ohio,

who maintain an office in the geographical area to be served by the service, and who meet

reasonable, objectively determined experience requirements established by the ser vice, pay the

reasonable registration and membership fees established by the service, and maintain in force a

policy of errors and omissions insurance in an amount established by the service;

(4) Establish rules that prohibit lawyer members of the service from charging

prospective clients to whom a client is referred, fees and or costs that exceed charges the client

would have incurred had no lawyer referral service been involved;

(5) Establish procedures to survey periodically clients referred to determine client

satisfaction with its operations and to investigate and take appropriate action with respect to client

complaints against lawyer members of the service, and the service and its employees;

(6) Establish procedures for admitting, suspending, or removing lawyers from its roll

of panelists and promulgate rules that prohibit the making of a fee generating referral to any lawyer

who has an ownership interest in, or who operates or is employed by the lawyer referral service,

or who is associated with a law firm that has an ownership interest in, or operates or is employed

by the lawyer referral service;

(7) Establish subject-matter panels, eligibility for which shall be determined on the

basis of experience and other substantial, objectively determinable criteria;

(8) As a condition of participation in the referral service, not place limits on the

lawyer’s selection of co-counsel to other lawyers listed with the referral service;

(9) Not make a fee-generating referral to any lawyer who has an ownership interest in

or who operates or is employed by the lawyer referral service or who is associated with a law firm

that has an ownership interest in or operates or is employed by a lawyer referral service;

(B) Ninety days before a new service begins operations, it shall register with the

Supreme Court Office of Attorney Services by completing and filing a registration form prescribed

by the Office. On or before the first day of March each year, the service shall file an annual report

with the Supreme Court Office of Attorney Services. The report shall contain information

regarding the activity of the service for the preceding calendar year and shall be filed on a form

prescribed by the Office.

(C) A lawyer referral and information service operating in Ohio may require lawyers

participating in the service to do one or more of the following:

(1) Pay a fee calculated as a percentage of legal fees earned by any lawyer panelist to

whom the lawyer referral service has referred a matter, in addition to payment of a membership or

registration fee as provided in division (A)(3) of this section. The income from the percentage fee

shall be used only to pay the reasonable operating expenses of the service and to fund public

service activities of the service or its sponsoring organization, including the delivery of pro bono

public services;

(2) Submit any fee disputes with a referred client to mandatory fee arbitration;

(3) Participate in moderate and no-fee panels and other special panels established by

the service that respond to the referral needs of the consumer public, eligibility for which shall be

determined on the basis of experience and other substantial objectively determinable criteria.

Section 2. Conditions for Participating in a Lawyer Referral Service.

(A) Each lawyer referral and information service shall include the following provisions

in its application or agreement governing participation in the lawyer referral and information

service:

(1) Each attorney-member of the service shall maintain professional liability insurance

in the minimum amounts of one hundred thousand dollars per occurrence and three hundred

thousand dollars in the aggregate. The service shall require the attorney-member to provide proof

of insurance on an annual basis in the form of a copy of the current policy declarations page.

(2) An attorney-member shall be suspended from further participation in the service

under any of the following circumstances:

(a) The attorney-member is disbarred or suspended from the practice of law;

(b) Any grievance proceeding against the attorney-member results in a determination

of probable cause;

(c) The attorney-member is named in a criminal indictment, information, or complaint

that charges a crime involving moral turpitude or dishonesty.

(3) Each attorney-member shall promptly notify the service, in writing, if the attorney-member is not in full compliance with the terms of the service’s referral agreement, is notified of

a probable cause determination in a grievance proceeding against the att orney-member, is named

in a criminal indictment, information, or complaint that charges a crime involving moral turpitude

or dishonesty, or if any information in the attorney-member’s application to become a member of

the service is not true and correct in any respect.

(4) Each attorney-member shall waive the right of confidentiality granted pursuant to

Gov. Bar R. V, Section 8 to the extent necessary to permit the service to be informed or inquire as

to the existence of any grievance proceeding against the attorney-member that results in a

determination of probable cause.

(5) The service and each attorney-member shall agree to participate in arbitration or

mediation in an effort to settle fee disputes that may arise between the service and attorney -

member, as a result of referrals made by the service to the attorney-member. Division (A)(5) of

this section shall not apply to fee disputes between an attorney-member and his or her client.

(B) The requirements set forth in this rule represent minimum standards applicable to

each lawyer referral and information service. A service may impose on its attorney-members more

restrictive provisions, including, but not limited to any of the following:

(1) Additional grounds for suspension from further participation in the service;

(2) Additional requirements regarding notice of pending grievance proceedings;

(3) The waiver of confidentiality granted pursuant to Gov. Bar R. V, Section 8 prior to

a determination of probable cause.

(C) As used in this section, “probable cause” has the same meaning as used in Gov. Bar

R. V, Section 35.

Section 3. Disclosure of Information for Reporting Purposes.

Each attorney participating in a lawyer referral service may give written notice to his or

her client informing the client that the attorney may be required to disclose to the service that

referred the client certain information regarding the client’s case. The notice shall describe the

information that may be reported, including, but not limited to the current status of the client’s

case and the amount of the attorney’s fee, and indicate that the disclosure is required in order for

the service to satisfy its reporting requirements to the Supreme Court Office of Attorney Services.

The notice shall be similar in substance to the following:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF UNDERSTANDING

Pursuant to the reporting requirements set forth by the Supreme Court Office of Attorney

Services, I understand and acknowledge that (insert Attorney’s Name), my attorney, may be

required to release and report to (insert name of the Lawyer Referral Servic e), the lawyer

referral service that recommended my attorney’s services to me, pertinent information

regarding my case, which may include the current status of my case and the amount of the

attorney’s fees. I further acknowledge that by signing this document, the disclo sure policy

applicable to my case has been fully explained to me and that all of my questions have been

answered regarding this matter.

_________________________________

Client’s Signature

Section 4. Application. Sections 1 to 3 of this rule shall not apply to any of the

following:

(A) A plan of prepaid legal services insurance authorized to operate in Ohio or a group

or prepaid legal plan, whether operated by a union, trust, mutual benefit or aid association,

corporation or other entity or person, that provides unlimited or a specified amount of telephone

advice or personal communications at no charge, other than a periodic membership or beneficiary

fee, to the members or beneficiaries and furnishes to or pays for legal services for its members or

beneficiaries;

(B) Individual, attorney-to-attorney referrals;

(C) Attorneys jointly advertising their services in a manner disclosing that the

advertising is solely to solicit clients for themselves;

(D) Any pro bono legal assistance program that does not accept fees from attorneys or

clients for referral.

Section 5. Legal Service Plans. Any bona fide organization that recommends,

furnishes, or pays for legal services to its members or beneficiaries shall satisfy all of the following:

(A) The organization, including any affiliate, is organized and operated so that no profit

is derived by it from the rendition of legal services by lawyers, and that, if the organization is

organized for profit, the legal services are not rendered by lawyers employed, directed, supervised,

or selected by it except in connection with matters where the organization bears ultimate liability

of its member or beneficiary.

(B) Neither the lawyer, the lawyer’s partner, associate, or any other lawyer affiliated

with the lawyer or the lawyer’s firm, nor any nonlawyer, shall have initiated or promoted the

organization for the primary purpose of providing financial or other benefit to the lawyer, partner,

associate, or affiliated lawyer.

(C) The organization is not operated for the purpose of procuring legal work or financial

benefit for any lawyer as a private practitioner outside of the legal services program of the

organization.

(D) The member or beneficiary to whom the legal services are furnished, and not the

organization, is recognized as the client of the lawyer in the matter.

(E) Any member or beneficiary who is entitled to have legal services furnished or paid

for by the organization, if such member or beneficiary so desires, may select counsel other than

that furnished, selected, or approved by the organization; provided, however, that the organization

shall be under no obligation to pay for the legal services furnished by the attorney selected by the

beneficiary unless the terms of the legal services plan specifically provide for payment.

(F) Any member or beneficiary may assert a claim that representation by counsel

furnished, selected, or approved by the organization would be unethical, improper, or inadequate

under the circumstances of the matter involved. The plan shall provide for adjudication of a claim

under division (E) of this section and appropriate relief through substitution of counsel or

providing that the beneficiary may select counsel and the organization shall pay for the legal

services rendered by selected counsel to the extent that such services are covered under the plan

and in an amount equal to the cost that would have been incurred by the plan if the plan had

furnished designated counsel.

(G) The lawyer does not know or have cause to know that the organization is in

violation of applicable laws, rules of court, and other legal requirements that govern its operations.

(H) The organization has filed with the Supreme Court Office of Attorney Services, on

or before the first day of March each year, a report with respect to its legal service plan, if any,

showing its terms, its schedule of benefits, its subscription charges, agreements with counsel, and

financial results of its legal service activities.