11/11/2011
State Rep. Rick Kriseman, a St. Petersburg Democrat and personal injury attorney, has proposed a bill that would regulate the services and force even those not owned by attorneys to abide by Florida Bar advertising rules. Kriseman's bill would also require the firms to disclose any financial links between the referral service and the medical clinics and law offices where it sends clients. 1-800-ASK-GARY, for example, is owned by Gary Kompothecras, a Sarasota chiropractor who also owns the medical clinics where many of 1-800-ASK-GARY clients get treatment. Kriseman also wants potential clients to know if the attorneys have to pay a fee for getting on the referral list.
"If people understand how the fingers are entwined, they may not be as anxious to use these services," Kriseman says.
For-profit lawyer referral services have operated in Florida since the mid-1980s, but the businesses didn't get much notice until a few years ago when some of the larger ones, such as 1-800-ASK-GARY and 1-800-411-PAIN, began aggressively advertising. In radio and television commercials, the companie...
