 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 
|
|
 |
||||||||||||||||
|
Bar News - January 19, 2001 Reduced-Fee Program Looks to Increase Participation THE NHBA'S Reduced-Fee Referral Service each year connects hundreds of working clients of modest means with attorneys who offer reduced-rate legal services. Although the Reduced-Fee Program stacks up well with similar programs across the country, there is still a tremendous need for reduced-fee legal service providers in NH, according to Virginia A. Martin, the Bar's associate executive director for Legal Services. According to statistics in materials from the ABA's "2000 National Lawyer Referral Workshop," held in October in New Orleans, participation in the NH Bar's Reduced Fee Program is on par with or above that of similar-sized "modest means" or reduced-fee programs across the country. "NH lawyers are doing an outstanding job," said Mary S. Searles, coordinator of the Bar's Lawyer Referral Service and Reduced Fee Referral Program. (The LRS and Reduced Fee Programs now have a new coordinator, Robin Brown. Searles, who has worked at the Bar since 1992, has resigned her position to attend graduate school. The accomplishments of the LRS program in recent years, along with an introduction to the new LRS coordinator, will appear in the next issue of Bar News. The Bar's Reduced-Fee Referral Program, which operates under the umbrella of the Lawyer Referral Service (LRS), referred 1,098 reduced fee cases in 1999 to 119 attorneys on the panel last year. According to information presented at the ABA conference on lawyer referral programs, the NHBA Reduced Fee Program had a comparable number of referrals or more than some much larger bars. For example, the San Francisco Bar Association, with 260 attorneys on its panel, referred 1,277 cases. Several other Bars had referrals that were one-tenth the number of reduced-fee cases referred in NH last year. Despite these numbers, Martin said, a need still exists. "We have a good program, but we'd like to increase the number of participating attorneys on the panel," said Martin. "Often, if not for a Reduced-Fee attorney, many of these clients would be forced to represent themselves," thus adding to the profusion of pro se litigants in the courts, she said. There are no membership fees to participate in the NH Bar's Reduced-Fee panel, nor do panel members pay percentage fees as they do for participating in the Lawyer Referral Service. Those attorneys who reported estimated income from Reduced-Fee referrals in 1999 earned about $135,000 through the program, said Searles. According to Martin, many attorneys find that taking cases through the Reduced-Fee Program helps them build up their law practice. One such attorney is Patrick F. Harrigan, who has participated in the program - as well as the Pro Bono Program - for several years. "It's a way to get clients, build a practice and help out people who can't afford full-fee services," said Harrigan. Harrigan's practice, in Portsmouth, focuses on general commercial litigation and domestic and personal injury cases. Through the Reduced-Fee Referral Program, he has helped clients with bankruptcy, divorce and other civil matters. Harrigan said that he has had "very good luck" with reduced-fee clients. "I have found them to be generally grateful, motivated clients with real problems who can pay some fee," he said. He added that taking reduced-fee cases has often led to further referrals - the client has come back with other legal matters or has recommended Harrigan to a friend. As a new lawyer, Jason Sullivan, a sole practitioner in Rochester, is trying to build a fledgling law practice with the help of the Reduced-Fee Program. Sullivan - who was admitted to the NH Bar on May 30, 2000 - grew up in New Hampshire, but attended law school in California. When he returned to his home state to start his general civil practice, he didn't know any fellow lawyers through whom he could get referrals and didn't know how effective advertising would be in attracting clients. He joined the LRS and Reduced-Fee Referral Program to drum up business. "It's a way to get referrals and to get as much exposure as possible to different areas of the law," Sullivan said. He added that participating in the program is "a way to make a little money while helping people," since he can't afford to offer pro bono services at this early point in his career. Sullivan also hopes that the varied cases he expects to take through the program will help him "narrow the focus" of his law practice by showing him the area of civil practice in which he's most interested. Sullivan has taken two reduced-fee cases so far. He said participating in the program has been a "positive" experience. "If it weren't for the Reduced-Fee Program, a lot of these clients might never get in an attorney's office," he said. Harrigan encourages other attorneys, especially those just entering practice, to participate in the Reduced-Fee Referral Program. "It gives young lawyers a chance to expand their practice and try different kinds of cases," he said. "And we all need to do what we can to provide legal services for everyone," Harrigan said. |
|
Home | About the Bar | For Members | For the Public | Legal Links | Publications | Online Store New Hampshire Bar Association |
