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The Ethics Of Online Legal Services
by Maureen Sirhal
A legal ethics panel in Arizona last week withdrew its opinion about state lawyers participating in online legal directories that advertise "prescreened" lawyers.
The ethics committee of the Arizona State Bar has held that its members may not partake in online services that match lawyers and clients unless the services meet the bar's rules. The committee issued an opinion two weeks ago concerning one online legal-services provider consistent with that policy but later pulled it, citing concerns over factual inaccuracies in the initial opinion and concessions on the part of the specific Internet legal directory in question in that opinion.
"We chatted with the specific Internet service and because of some changes that they are making and some factual inaccuracies in the ethics opinion, we decided to pull it off and rework the opinion," said Lynda Shely, ethics counsel for the state bar. She noted that the service does not qualify as a legal reference and therefore is not subject to the bar's rule. But the business may have to add a disclaimer on its Web site explaining to consumers that "prescreen" simply means that the attorneys listed on the site can practice law in Arizona.
The bar association's policy on legal-referral services was designed to "give members of the public a full range of admitted and competent lawyers to choose from, as opposed to only those lawyers that paid to be listed," Shely said. If an Arizona lawyer violates the ethics rule, he or she is subject to the association's discipline proceedings.
The policy was issued after a member asked if he could ethically participate in Internet services. The opinion that the bar association provided is intended as guidance in such matters, Shely said.
But the issue highlights a growing problem for online businesses in sectors such as legal services, which increasingly find that they must obey competing regulations. While bricks-and-mortar services face regulations limited to the jurisdictions where their offices are located, some online services must comply with rules in all 50 states.
"Right now that's virtually a nightmare for most groups advertising legal services," Shely said.
Taking The Initiative To Say 'Yes' And 'No'
States pushing education initiatives on last week's ballots received mixed responses from voters. While Virginia residents approved a bond to help state colleges and universities improve their facilities, for example, other states saw their own education-based measures fail.
Here is a recap of the initiatives that voters approved or rejected:
Arizona: Voters approved a proposition that exempts sales-tax revenue from spending limits. In 2000, voters approved a sales-tax increase to finance education.
California: State residents endorsed a proposition aimed at generating $13 billion from bond sales to renovate education facilities. More than $1.5 billion will be allocated to colleges, while the governor and legislature can choose specific projects for the remaining funds.
Florida: Voters adopted a constitutional amendment that will restructure the way the state governs higher education institutions, allowing local 13-member boards to oversee the schools. Additionally, a 17-member governing board will oversee the entire university system.
Georgia: The electorate adopted a constitutional amendment that will allow localities to create redevelopment tax incentives. Blighted properties will be subject to more taxes, and formerly blighted properties will benefit from decreased tax burdens.
Louisiana: Voters rejected a constitutional amendment designed to give colleges more flexibility to invest up to 50 percent of gifts, grants, endowments and other permanent funds in stocks.
Michigan: Residents blocked a constitutional amendment that would have redistributed 90 percent, or about $297 million, of the state's revenue from the multistate tobacco settlement toward health care. Right now, most of the money funds merit-based scholarships for college students, and about $50 million each year supports the state's life-science initiative.
Missouri: Additional funding for life-science research took a hit, as a measure for implementing a tax of 2.75 cents per cigarette (55 cents per pack) and 20 percent on other tobacco products failed. The revenue would have expanded support for biomedical/biotech research, among other things.
Montana: Voters rejected an amendment that would have permitted the investment of more funds, including those from the permanent public-school trust and the university system, in stocks.
North Dakota: Residents defeated a measure that would have allowed reimbursement of some student-loan payments. Proponents of the initiative hoped that it would encourage graduates to remain in the state after graduation, part of an effort to retain skilled workers.
Virginia: The state will be able to sell more than $900 million in bonds to fund improvements to colleges, museums and other educational facilities. Such projects may include renovation of instructional facilities and construction of new research space.
Missouri Ponders 'Do Not Spam' List
South Carolina Attorney General Jeremiah (Jay) Nixon is working with state lawmakers to find a way to stem the rising tide of junk e-mail, or spam.
The Columbia Missourian reports that Nixon plans to work with state Rep. Chuck Graham and state Sen. Wayne Goode, both Democrats, to create a "do not spam" list similar to the state's current "do not call" list that allows residents to voluntarily ban calls from telemarketers.
The legislation would be designed to let Missouri citizens add their e-mail addresses to the new list, and advertisers would have to check list to ensure that they are not sending commercial e-mails to those addresses. Violators would be subject to fines.
Nixon also pledged to pursue spammers located out of Missouri and out of the United States as vigorously as he does in-state violators.
Building IT Bit by Bit In Oregon
A coalition of high-tech firms in Oregon this week demonstrated a new project aimed at helping states and localities integrate their communications networks to aid in homeland security efforts.
The Oregon Regional Alliance for Information and Network Security (RAINS) is a 250-member coalition composed of private high-tech and security firms and public-sector groups, including state universities and the state economic development commission. The group has launched a project to link state and local emergency responders through a secure computer network called the Oregon Trial of Emergency and Security Technology.
The system, which RAINS aims to deploy on a trial basis in a year, would connect police and fire personnel, officials at 911 emergency centers, operators of critical infrastructure like telecommunications networks, and others through an Internet-based network. RAINS hopes to secure $6.5 million in initial funding from federal and state homeland security initiatives, as well as corporate sponsorships and user fees from vendors.
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