How did the Lawyer Referral Service Come to be?
Ever wonder how the ACBA LRS came to be? Essentially every bar association in history is a lawyer referral service by default.
Members of the community who were in need of a lawyer would turn to their local bar association for a recommendation for an attorney for their specific need. Through the years, bar associations would formalize procedures and programs on how to carryout this crucial function.
At the ACBA, the LRS really evolved into what it is today when it was championed by then ACBA President Donald Very in the late 1970s. Coincidentally enough, Donald Very was the grandfather of attorney Ryan Very, the current Chair of the ACBA Lawyer Referral Committee.
These historical newspaper clippings highlight some of Donald Very’s efforts to grow the LRS in the Pittsburgh Region.
Donald Very