Oral arguments before the Florida Supreme Court: Christopher Kise, who represents TIKD Services LLC and Chris Altenbernd, who represents the Florida Bar.

A Coral Gables traffic ticket-fighting startup defended its business model before the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday against allegations by the Florida Bar that it engages in the unlicensed practice of law.

The case raises questions about what constitutes legal advice and lawyer referrals.

With the TIKD app, consumers can deal with traffic tickets within minutes through their smartphone, by uploading a picture of their ticket and paying a percentage of it, while TIKD hires a qualified attorney to tackle the case in court. The lawyer then reaches out to the driver, who can choose whether or not to retain them. If the consumer does end up with a fine, TIKD pays it.

TIKD calls that "affordable access to justice," but the Florida Bar calls it false advertising—because TIKD executive director Christopher Riley is not an attorney.

Data-Driven

The oral arguments followed a recommendation from court-appointed referee Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Teresa Pooler that the bar's petition be dismissed with prejudice. Her report found TIKD doesn't offer legal services or give advice, and instead provides a financial guarantee.

Bar counsel Chris W. Altenbernd of Banker Lopez Gassler in Tampa disagreed, alleging that TIKD uses Florida Bar members to offer legal defense help through a "casino-like" model, where the odds have to favor TIKD.

TIKD accepts or rejects cases based on a statistical model that weighs the average outcomes for particular tickets.

Altenbernd also claimed TIKD's online FAQs answer "many of the same questions that lawyers answer for their clients." But because its director isn't a lawyer, he's able to dodge the advertising regulations that bar members must adhere to.

"No lawyer or legal service could come close to putting this stuff on their website," Altenbernd said.

Justice Alan Lawson, likewise, took issue with one potentially misleading line from TIKD's website that said, "With TIKD, you avoid points on your licence and thousands in higher insurance claims. Without TIKD, you will get points on your license."

TIKD's attorney, Christopher M. Kise of Foley & Lardner in Tallahassee, called the bar's claims "hyperbole" because there's no evidence of harm. He said TIKD is upfront about not being a law firm, and doesn't give drivers any legal advice or discuss cases.

"This is what an access to justice solution looks like," Kise said.

Kise noted all businesses have to follow deceptive advertising regulations, and said his client is simply offering administrative support and connecting drivers to a lawyer—who is subject to bar rules.

Kise drew comparisons to insurance companies, which often play a role in litigation, whereas TIKD doesn't. He stressed a need for the service, having recently received a traffic ticket in Georgia and had to make seven different phone calls just to pay it.

"It's time to think differently about this," Kise said. "We allow this with insurance companies. We do that because it benefits the bar, it hires a lot more lawyers. So why do we look at the rules differently when we're talking about the consumer?"

Altenbernd disagreed.

"If you're going to allow nonlawyers to do all the advertising that we regulate by the bar, I submit to you that you have just given the private people a substantial part of the practice of law," Altenbernd said.

Chief Justice Charles Canady said he struggled to square how TIKD can derive its income from providing or facilitating legal services without engaging in the unauthorized practice of law, while Justice Carlos Muniz challenged Altenbernd's focus on TIKD's advertising practices instead of explaining how the company has encroached on the practice of law.

"There's nothing in the record to suggest that this company is directing, or controlling or telling these lawyers what to do," Muniz said.

James McGuire represents the Florida Private Practice Lawyers, which has filed an amicus brief in favor of the bar. He argued TIKD's business model means lawyers aren't paid enough to spend time with clients because, "This is all about running through the numbers and generating as many of these as you possibly can."

"If I was an attorney and set up my own business called, 'Jim's Ticket Defense' and did all the things that TIKD is doing, I'd be in significant trouble with the bar," McGuire said. "I'm better off being a disbarred lawyer and doing this than being a lawyer and trying to run the exact same business they are."

The justices have yet to rule.

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