Ethics Opinion Poses Obstacle For Legal Referral Service

Avvo Legal Services matches lawyers willing to provide defined legal services with clients who pay a fee up front. Avvo takes its marketing fee from the lawyers’ accounts in a separate transaction. The service was launched this year in 18 states, but according to Law Sites by Robert Ambrogi, a South Carolina ethics opinion on fee-sharing highlights a potential obstacle for fixed-fee legal referral services. The arrangement, according to the opinion, violates the general ban on sharing fees with non-lawyers, or in the alternative, violates the ban on paying for a referral.