News from the Lawyer Referral & Information Service

First and foremost, I would like to thank all of our LRIS and Moderate Means attorneys, as well as our LRIS Committee for all of their hard work in 2019.

The past year has brought some great changes to our LRIS.

Our new website was launched this past October, making requests for referrals online much easier for clients. We have already seen an increase in the referral requests using the online request form.

Coming Soon
New After-Hours Referral Feature!

We are excited to announce a new feature for the Lawyer Referral Service that will roll out in 2020. This new feature will automate the lawyer referral process so clients in need of an attorney will receive the name and contact information of a qualified, pre-screened attorney directly from the website.

The State Bar of California and the California Supreme Court recently approved this new procedure, and the CCCBA will be introducing it for after-hours access this year. A poll of CCCBA LRIS member attorneys has shown that many of our members would be interested in participating in this service so the roll out will happen as soon as the technology is in place on the website.

The CCCBA Lawyer Referral Service prides itself on personal service, and will continue to offer referrals over the telephone during business hours. However, for nights and weekends, we plan to offer this new automated service through the website. It will allow easier access for the public to use our service. Referrals will be available 24 hours a day, seven days per week!

A client will input their contact information on the Find a Lawyer screen and describe the nature of their problem, pay the $35 fee online and then be given the contact information for an attorney appropriate for their situation. The client will contact the attorney directly to schedule the appointment.

These referrals will be monitored by LRIS staff members who will follow up with the attorney after the appointment to learn the status of the referral.

We Can Help You Get More Business!

The LRIS and the Moderate Means programs are always looking for attorneys to participate in our Referral Service. If you would like to become a member of the Lawyer Referral and Information Service and receive referrals of pre-screened clients in a particular area of law, simply contact our office at (925) 686-6900 x 2. We are especially in need of attorneys in both the West County and East County areas (and a BIG thank you to four East County attorneys who recently signed up for the LRIS).

Our Moderate Means program is in need of attorneys in the areas of Family Law, Immigration and Elder Law. Moderate Means attorneys agree to take on cases at a lower fee and deposit, to help those clients who could not otherwise be able to afford the services of a qualified attorney. A bonus of participating in this program is that the CCCBA LRIS does not collect any percentage fees from you for these cases. If you have any questions about either of these programs, please contact me at (925) 370-2544 or barsedo@cccba.org.

Lastly, I want to thank our dedicated LRIS Staff, who are the main contact for our clients looking for a consultation with an attorney. Emily Day, Jennifer Comages, Jennifer Spalding and Anne Wolf are instrumental in providing our clients with excellent services day in and day out.