Searching for Lawyers though ABA Portal:
State and local bar associations and other organizations throughout the United States offer on-line means to search for lawyers licensed to practice law in various jurisdictions. Many of these services provide means to identify lawyers who have represented that they have experience practicing in particular subject matter areas of law.
The American Bar Association provides links to lawyer search and referral mechanisms offered by state and local bar associations and other organizations throughout the country through its:
- Lawyer Referral Directoryathttp://www.abanet.org/legalservices/lris/directory/ and
- Consumers Guide to Legal Help athttp://www.abanet.org/legalservices/findlegalhelp/home.cfm
Local Bar Associations in New York and Several Other Jurisdictionsoperate the “iLawyer” referral network for locating experienced attorneys for business law and other matters in such jurisdictions; seehttp://www.ilawyer.com/iLawyer-com/
Other On-Line Tools to Locate Lawyers Available to Provide Pertinent Services:
Some other on-line avenues to locate lawyers in various practice areas, including in many cases the ability to search for lawyers practicing in areas of interest to entrepreneurs and innovators, include entrepreneurship networks such as those listed on this site at Resource Links - Help Centers, and law firm listing and lawyer referral service sites accessible through the following portals maintained byWashburn University School of Law:
- Law Firms index with links athttp://www.washlaw.edu/lfirms/index.php?c=8
- Legal Directories index with links athttp://www.washlaw.edu/directories/index.html
List of Pro Bono Programs for Nonprofit Organizations and Small Business:
- Directory (State-by-State List Compiled by Susan Kaplan. Community Economic Development Law Project, Chicago, Illinois) athttp://www.lisc.org/docs/experts/2006/eo_11_21_2006_pro_bono.pdf
Checking on Standing of Lawyers:
It is now customary for many of the overseers of the practicing bar in the various states to provide on line access as to the status of a lawyer’s license to practice in that state and information as to whether the lawyer has been subject to any disciplinary action by the profession’s governing body in that state. A state-by-state directory of contact information and links to lawyer disciplinary agencies in the U.S. maintained by the ABA is available at: http://www.abanet.org/cpr/regulation/directory.pdf.