Come to the source: come to the Florida Bar.

• Author: Blumberg, Edward R.
• Position: Lawyer Referral Service - President's Page

They were new in town. Just been transferred. Mortgage rates being low, it was a perfect time to buy a home. After some searching, they found their dream house and received a contract from the seller's broker to sign. Words like "documentary stamps" and "special assessment liens" were ones they had not seen before. It was clear they needed a lawyer, but they did not know one. The couple looked in the yellow pages, but the maze of ads screaming out at them was confusing. Where could they turn to find a residential real estate lawyer in their neighborhood who could help them for a reasonable fee?

If our prospective buyers had just moved to Sarasota, Miami, Gainesville, Daytona Beach, Lake Wales, Panama City, or any of 47 Florida counties, all they need do would be place a toll-free call to the Lawyer Referral Service of The Florida Bar. Trained employees of the Bar are on standby during normal business hours to receive calls from the public seeking lawyers, to screen the call, and to refer the caller to a lawyer qualified to address the caller's problem and happy to handle midrange matters at a reasonable fee.

There is just one drawback in our story: This new family in town never heard of The Florida Bar, much less the Bar's Lawyer Referral Service.

Now, however, this obstacle to receiving affordable legal services is being erased. The Florida Bar has now formulated a plan of action to reach out to the middle class citizens of this state to familiarize them with our Lawyer Referral Service.

Since breathing new energy into our lawyer referral system was one of my goals this year, I turned to someone who has an abundance of energy and good judgment, Lep Adams, president of the Young Lawyers Division. True to form, Lep tackled this project with great exuberance and innovation. We are thus pleased to announce that in early spring we will begin a public service campaign to let prospective clients know that when they need a lawyer, all they have to do is come...