Overture will take the remaining twenty precent ( 20 %) of the attorney fees collected .
Overture ’ s emergence in the field will undoubtedly be controversial . Many lawyers will likely contend that the founders of LegalZoom do not need any more money and may contend that it is unlikely that Overture will engage in the practice of law or give back to the legal community , especially locally in St . Petersburg . Yet , other lawyers may argue that this practice of creating ease in referrals gives people who are in need of lawyers better access to legal help . Both may be correct , but there is a simple solution to appease both parties : simply cut out Overture as the middleman .
Florida lawyers are allowed to give and receive attorney fees for referrals . Though many lawyers currently refer without expecting a referral fee , Overture may change this dynamic completely . If members of the St . Petersburg Bar Association make referral fees a normal practice , nonlawyers will have better access to legal help and we can keep more money right here in St . Petersburg , with more of it going to the local attorneys by cutting out an intermediary . If the intermediary is cut out , even if the referring attorney agrees to receive twenty-five percent ( 25 %) of fees collected and the referred attorney agrees to keep only seventy-five percent ( 75 %) of attorney fees collected , that increases the financial outcome for each side by ten percent ( 10 %) versus using Overture as the intermediary . Importantly , it also means that there is twenty percent ( 20 %) more of those fees that are staying local and being used by practitioners in our legal community .
The simple fact is that referral fees are coming . As a legal community , we can embrace it and build our referral networks before Overture becomes the go-to intermediary , or we can fight it and let Overture build the referral networks before we do . Overture and our own referral networks will both exist , but if we embrace the change early , more money will stay to our community .
Obviously , this will be a controversial change . Many lawyers will not change their practices on referral fees . However , we simply cannot deny that referral fees are coming . Will you be ready ? Who is in your referral network ?
Douglas G . Jackson is the founding attorney of The Law Firm of Douglas G . Jackson , P . A . His practice includes business law , litigation , and estate planning . His practice also includes representing disabled veterans . Doug is Chair of the Law Practice Management Section .
ST . PETERSBURG BAR ASSOCIATION PARACLETE
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