(a) An individual, partnership, corporation, association, or any other nongovernmental entity shall not operate for the direct or indirect purpose, in whole or in part, of referring potential clients to attorneys, and no attorney shall accept a referral of such potential clients, unless all of the following requirements are met: (1) The service is certified by the State Bar of California and is operated in conformity with minimum standards for a lawyer referral service established by the State Bar and approved by the Supreme Court. (2) The combined charges to the potential client by the referral service and the attorney to whom the potential client is referred do not exceed the total cost that the client would normally pay if no referral service were involved. (b) A referral service shall not be owned or operated, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by those lawyers to whom, individually or collectively, more than 20 percent of referrals are made. For purposes of this subdivision, a referral service that is owned or operated by a bar association, as defined in the minimum standards, shall be deemed to be owned or operated by its governing committee so long as the governing committee is constituted and functions in the manner prescribed by the minimum standards. (c) None of the following is a lawyer referral service: (1) A plan of legal insurance as defined in Section 119.6 of the Insurance Code. (2) A group or prepaid legal plan, whether operated by a union, trust, mutual benefit or aid association, public or private corporation, or other entity or person, which meets both of the following conditions: (A) It recommends, furnishes, or pays for legal services to its members or beneficiaries. (B) It provides telephone advice or personal consultation. (3) A program having as its purpose the referral of clients to attorneys for representation on a pro bono basis. (4) A nonprofit organization that partners with a referral service as provided in this article. (d) The following are in the public interest and do not constitute an unlawful restraint of trade or commerce: (1) An agreement between a referral service and a participating attorney to eliminate or restrict the attorneyâs fee for an initial office consultation for each potential client or to provide free or reduced fee services. (2) Requirements by a referral service that attorneys meet reasonable participation requirements, including experience, education, and training requirements. (3) Provisions of the minimum standards as approved by the Supreme Court. (4) Requirements that the application and renewal fees for certification as a lawyer referral service be determined, in whole or in part, by a consideration of any combination of the following factors: a referral serviceâs gross annual revenues, number of panels, number of panel members, amount of fees charged to panel members, or for-profit or nonprofit status; provided that the application and renewal fees are reasonable and necessary to cover the cost of the program and established by the State Bar through the rulemaking process. (5) Requirements that, to increase access to the justice system for all Californians, lawyer referral services establish separate ongoing activities or arrangements that serve persons of limited means. (6) Partnerships or agreements between a referral service and a participantâs nonprofit organization to refer potential clients for assistance. (e) With the approval of the Supreme Court, the State Bar shall formulate and enforce rules and regulations for carrying out this section, including rules and regulations which do the following: (1) Establish minimum standards for lawyer referral services. (2) Require that an entity seeking to qualify as a lawyer referral service register with the State Bar and obtain certification from the State Bar. (3) Require that the certificate may be obtained, maintained, suspended, or revoked pursuant to procedures set forth in the rules and regulatio
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