Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service

The Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service is maintained as a public service by The Florida Bar. It refers more than 130,000 cases to attorneys throughout the State of Florida each year. The easiest way to use the LRS is by visiting the website and using the online form.

Using the Florida Bar LRS

If you call Florida Bar's Lawyer Referral Service, a clerk will take the call. The clerk will ask you several questions to determine in which city or county the attorney is needed, the area of law, and other criteria that might apply (such as whether you need a bilingual attorney or an attorney who can visit you at the jail). Based on the above-listed criteria, the clerk will refer you to a local and qualified attorney for your case.

You will then be told to contact the attorney for a half-hour office consultation for a fee of no more than $25.00. The service does not receive any portion of the $25 fee. Any service beyond the initial consultation and the fees for that service will be negotiated between the client and the attorney.

You should tell the attorney that you were referred by the Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service. You must contact the attorney because the attorney is not permitted to contact you first.

In fact, it is a violation of Rule 4-7.4(a) of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar for the attorney to contact you first. Learn more about looking at the Lawyer Referral Service Operating Procedures of the Florida Bar.

Florida's Online Bar Lawyer Referral Service

The lawyers on Florida's Online Bar Lawyer Referral Service are all Members In Good Standing of the Florida Bar with no pending probable cause complaints. The attorneys in this online referral service also each carry $100,000 of professional liability insurance. In exchange for a fee of $25.00, the attorneys have agreed to provide a half-hour office consultation.

Any other fees required after that for additional services are decided between the attorney and the client and neither is required to continue with the representation. The Florida Bar does not charge for the referral. Not all lawyers who are members of the Florida Bar are a member of this service.

The online form helps you find an attorney that practices or works in a particular county, speaks a second language, practices in a certain area of the law, or is willing to provide a jail consultation.

Finding a Florida Attorney

If you need to find an attorney in Florida then consider contacting the Lawyer Referral Service maintained by The Florida Bar or a local bar association. These non-profit community-based services provide an alternative to searching the internet for an attorney or using an online attorney directory.

This article was last updated on Friday, January 3, 2020.