Seeking A New Beginning
By F. Vincent O’Brien, Chair, Attorney Referral Service

The Attorney Referral Service is changing the way it does business, and we are inviting you to join us as we go “ Back to the Future.” The ARS committee has come to the realization that we are no longer the “only game in town.” In fact; Sacramento isn’t even a town anymore. After quite a bit of brainstorming on how to best re-acquaint ourselves with the community we came up with novel concept -- we would go out and meet the members of the community.

Two experienced Probate and Estate Planning panel members, Linda Dankman and Jonelle Beck, graciously volunteered to put on a seminar at the Ethel MacLeod Multipurpose Senior Center last June. Ms. Dankman discussed the handling and valuation of small estates. Ms. Beck addressed the issues of wills and trusts, including living trusts and simple. As we hoped, the seminar was well attended and very well received. In fact, we have been asked to put on more of these events. The ARS committee is very fortunate to have panel members who are willing to share their expertise by participating in a program such as this, and for this we thank them.

We learned from this program that there is a demand for these informational seminars, and while they may not initially generate a flood of clients to the office of the attorney who presents the seminar, these meetings will serve to reintroduce us to the community. This year, our committee will be hosting additional programs intended to provide opportunities for contact with the members of our community, not all of which will involve the seminar format. We are in the process of planning forums that will focus on different area of law and will be presented in a way that maximizes the panel attorney’s exposure to the public.

The budgets of governmental agencies in the Sacramento area are going to tighten even further then they are now, with the result of making fewer services available to the public. The need for good legal advice, and I emphasize that the advice must be good, will become more important. As our panel grows, both in number and in areas of practice, we will be even better able to match attorneys with clients. From the viewpoint of the prospective client, we have a lot to offer. Instead of entrusting their case to an attorney drawn randomly from the Yellow Pages, we can provide them with a lawyer who actually practices in the area of their immediate concern, who has insurance, and is a member of the only State Bar Certified referral service in the area.

I think that the suggestion of sponsoring a “Take a Lawyer To Lunch Day” is a bit premature, but I am convinced that the forums and seminars that we are planning to sponsor, and co-sponsor with civic and business groups, will reestablish our presence in the community. This will, of course, lead prospective clients to call the ARS when they want “The Right Lawyer, Right Now”.