Radio and billboard ads urge public to call Bar’s
Lawyer
Referral and Information Service for legal help
The State Bar recently began airing two 30-second radio spots in Dane
County that educate the public about the Lawyer Referral and Information
Service (LRIS), which matches Wisconsin lawyers with clients who need
legal help with everyday problems. The spots, which aired during two
weeks in September on FM stations WJJO (94.1), WZEE (104), the MIC
(92.1), and Star Country (96.3) between 6 a.m. and midnight, will air
again during the weeks of Dec. 18 and Dec. 31. Billboards reinforcing
the message appeared in mid-September on the east side of Madison.
A phone call to the State Bar’s toll-free LRIS number connects
consumers with legal assistants who can help them evaluate how to get
appropriate assistance. Individuals can be referred to a panel attorney
experienced in a specific area of law, can learn about government
agencies or other resources that can help resolve issues, and even may
receive a free call back from an attorney to briefly discuss a legal
question. Between 2003 and 2005, LRIS has received 141,226 calls and
referred more than 35,000 cases to LRIS panelists.
Billboards educating the public about the
Lawyer Referral and Information Service appeared in Dane County in
mid-September.
”We selected Dane County as a pilot project because it is a
heavily populated area that generates the highest number of calls that
result in referrals to panel attorneys,“ says Committee Chair
Janice Bensky. ”With this public education effort, we hope the
service has greater impact on the area. The ads, which target men and
women between the ages of 18 to 54, focus on educating the public about
the best way to deal with the confusion when confronted with minor
issues or major legal problems. The ads encourage people to ‘make
the call’ so an LRIS representative can help determine whether
they do indeed need legal help.
”To further reinforce the radio messages, eight billboards
promoting the LRIS program went up in mid-September on the east side of
Madison,“ says Bensky. ”Locations were chosen to target the
middle-income bracket because statistics show that this group is less
likely to already have an attorney.“
Join LRIS now through June 30, 2007 and pay $68 (one-third off the
annual registration fee). To register, contact Pat Ruppert at
(800) 444-9404, ext. 6131, (608) 250-6131, or download a
registration form at www.wisbar.org/lris.
