LRIS was founded in 1955 as a referral service under the umbrella of the Atlanta Bar Association . At that time , it was known as the Lawyer Referral Service (“ LRS ”). From its inception until 2004 , LRS generated little revenue – the only income was generated from the consultation fees paid by potential clients seeking a lawyer referral . This fee initially was $ 35 and currently is $ 45 . Back then , LRS was governed by a committee that oversaw the operations of LRS , and it relied on the Atlanta Bar Association for its funding needs .
In 2003 , under the direction of the Atlanta Bar President , William deGolian , LRS implemented policies to ensure it would comply with the American Bar Association ’ s Supreme Court Model Rules regarding lawyer referral programs . LRS was approved by the American Bar Association in September 2003 , and the name was changed from LRS to LRIS . At that time , the committee approach for overseeing LRIS was restructured to create a board to govern LRIS . The board quickly assumed control and solicited the State Bar of Georgia to change the Bar rules regarding bar-sponsored lawyer referral services collecting a percentage fee from attorneys who retained clients through its services . The goal was to generate sufficient revenue to cover LRIS operating costs and to grow the program . Ultimately , LRIS wanted to be able to make monetary contributions to increase access to justice for fellow Atlantans .
In January 2004 , the State Bar amended the rule to allow bar-sponsored non-profit lawyer referral services to collect a percentage fee . In September 2004 , LRIS implemented its percentage fee policy requiring attorneys to pay LRIS 15 % of fees earned in excess of $ 500 , which remains the same today .
These changes had an immediate effect – by fiscal year 2006-2007 , the program was on target to reach $ 100,000 in reserves . At the end of fiscal year 2009 , the reserves increased to $ 300,000 . That same year , the LRIS board voted to sponsor its first intern for the Summer Lawyer Intern Program (“ SLIP ”). The board also addressed how it might use surplus funds to further access to justice . One target organization was the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (“ AVLF ”), which was in dire need of financial assistance . The leaders of the Atlant Bar Association , David Schaeffer ( Atlanta Bar President ) and William deGolian ( LRIS Board Chair ), believed that AVLF was a worthy cause and the LRIS board voted to contribute $ 50,000.00 to AVLF and $ 18,000 to eighteen Atlanta-based pro bono organizations .
During this time , LRIS board leaders believed that a formalized grant program would better serve the mission of providing access to justice . LRIS thus created a grant program to formalize the process for the distribution of surplus funds . The Grant Program was launched in 2010 . Soon thereafter , LRIS shared its Grant Program with the Atlanta Bar Foundation ( the “ Foundation ”) so that it could adopt a similar program . In fiscal year
MEMBERSHIP 2010-2011 , the first grants were distributed to pro bono organizations under the newly created Grant Program .
Over the years there have been minor changes to finetune the Grant Program . In June 2011 , for example , the grant applications for LRIS and the Foundation were combined into one document that asked each pro bono organization to request the amount they wished to receive from the Foundation and LRIS separately ( primarily because the missions of the LRIS Board and the Foundation were not always unified ). Then , in 2012 , LRIS adopted the Grant Pool Priority Agreement to define priority for the grants .
LRIS and the Foundation donations to pro bono organizations through the years are impressive . Between 2009 and 2024 , LRIS and the Foundation contributed a total of $ 2,027,220 , which LRIS contributed on a yearby-year basis as follows : 2009-2010 – $ 69,750 2010-2011 – $ 31,750 2011-2012 -- $ 35,000 2012-2013 -- $ 20,000 2013-2014 -- $ 39,300 2014-2015 -- $ 66,100 2015-2016 -- $ 193,150 2016-2017 -- $ 75,000 2017-2018 -- $ 57,500 2018-2019 -- $ 126,000 2019-2020 -- $ 157,000 2020-2021 – COVID 2021-2022 -- $ 195,545 2022-2023 -- $ 160,145 2023-2024 -- $ 175,000
LRIS has also generated significant revenue for its panel members . From the inception of the percentage fee policy in September 2004 until August 2024 , LRISreferred clients have generated $ 5,159,003 in fees for panelists . There was a total of 233,202 referrals and LRIS has handled more than 1,086,483 callers over this period . Kudos for the LRIS staff and directors over these years for enabling such great success , with a special mention for our current director , Lucia Keller , who is incredible in every way .
But there is room for more growth . LRIS needs additional panel members . In 2004 , LRIS had 950 attorneys . Currently , there are only 190 panelists . The Board believes that Georgia-licensed attorneys have an incredible opportunity to grow their practice through LRIS referrals . Atlanta has experienced incredible growth over the last 20 years , and that growth has no sign of slowing down . As a result , there will be a greater demand for legal services , and much of this demand
will seek counsel through referral services , including LRIS . The 70-year track record of referrals and fees proves that LRIS membership has tremendous opportunities and benefits . www . atlantabar . org THE ATLANTA LAWYER 21