Artifical intelligence. Photo: Zapp2Photo/Shutterstock.com.

The Florida Bar has modernized its online lawyer referral platform, teaming with California technology company Legal.io to incorporate artificial intelligence able to match client's needs with the most suitable lawyer.

The new version covers 120 practice areas in 47 counties that previously had no online lawyer referral service. Consumers can now run quick searches for local lawyers around the clock, using up to 12 different languages.

The project took two years to implement, according to Florida Bar President-elect John M. Stewart, who chairs its Committee on Technologies Affecting the Practice of Law.

The Florida Bar introduced its lawyer referral service in 1972, which included email referrals by the late 1980s, and went online around 2005, Stewart said. But progress has stalled since then.

“Unfortunately, since that time it had never changed, and obviously the technology had changed rather dramatically,” Stewart said.

While many Florida companies and organizations managed to keep up with consumer appetites for faster, less clunky technology, the legal realm lagged behind. Finding a lawyer remained more complicated than it needed to be, causing many Floridians to get disheartened and give up, Stewart said.

“While there are a lot of consumers who aren't getting to lawyers or aren't finding lawyers, there are a lot of lawyers who are unemployed or underemployed,” Stewart said. “That disconnect is illogical.”

How does it work?

The platform uses machine learning in an attempt to eliminate frustration by picking up on the nuances of a client's request, understanding what practice area they need even if they don't use the right terminology.

John M. Stewart. Photo: J. Scott Kelly.

“A consumer can now go onto the system and type in something like, 'I can't afford to pay my rent,' or 'My landlord is not fixing the air conditioner,' and they'll get directed to a landlord-tenant attorney because the computer understands keywords and phrases,” Stewart said.

The computer then suggests two or three local lawyers who meet the criteria, allowing the client to click on their profiles and contact them through the platform.

“How they connect after that is up to them,” Stewart said. “But they don't now have to get off and make a phone call or have to wait for the attorney to call them.”

Attorneys must complete an application with a $125 sign-up fee, have professional liability insurance of at least $100,000 and be in good standing with the bar to be featured on the platform.

About 700 lawyers have signed up so far, Stewart said.

“It seems low,” Stewart said. “But we think with this new system we're going to get a lot more referrals and a lot more lawyers that want to participate.”

Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach aren't covered, as they and 17 other counties already have online lawyer referral services.

The Florida counties with an independent lawyer referral service, compared to the counties now covered by the Florida Bar. Courtesy photo.

“The Florida Bar does not wish to be competitive with those within our own family,” Stewart said.

That said, Stewart hopes that voluntary bar associations might eventually roll into the system in addition to having their own.

The bar already provides more than 70,000 referrals annually—a number Stewart expects to rise. And while he concedes it's ”not perfect,” the revamp could become a model for other states. The New York State Bar Association has also updated its lawyer referral platform using Legal.io.

“This is just the first part of a very long evolution of what will happen with this product,” Stewart said.

According to Stewart, at least three more phases of improvements are in the works.

If consumers don't find what they're looking for on the Florida Bar site—say, a pro bono lawyer—Stewart hopes consumer will eventually be able to connect with a legal aid group without having to leave the platform.

Florida Bar President Michelle Suskauer is excited about the platform.

“It's able to so easily connect the consumer with the lawyer that can truly help them,” Suskauer said. “If you're connected blindly, you can waste time and people can get frustrated. But by really harnessing the technology that's out there, the Florida Bar is on the forefront of this.”

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