State Bar's Lawyer Referral Service incorporates new tech

The State Bar of Michigan’s Lawyer Referral Service has been connecting attorneys with clients for more than 40 years – but now it’s even better equipped to help.

Lawyer Referral Service now incorporates new technology that better screen clients so participating attorneys receive referrals best matched to their services. In addition, the Modest Means Program has expanded to include more practice areas, creating an opportunity for more attorneys to participate.

There continues to be unmet need for attorneys to participate in the Michigan Lawyer Referral Service. Last year, the Lawyer Referral Service responded to more than 10,000 requests for legal assistance and made more than 4,000 referrals to participating attorneys. However, more than 1,750 potential clients could not be referred to an attorney because
there was not a Lawyer Referral Service participating attorney in the geographic or practice area they needed.

The shortage of attorneys is especially great in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula as well as the in the practice areas of family, consumer, probate, and medical malpractice law.

To learn more, visit www.michbar.org/programs/lawyerreferral_panel or contact Monique Smith, LRS panel coordinator, at msmith@michbar.org or 517-346-6323.