`legal/attorney-engagement-letter.md`

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# Outreach email to a California business attorney

**Use:** Send this to 3–5 CA-licensed business attorneys who advertise flat-fee work for tech / SaaS founders. Ask for written responses; collect bids; pick the most reasonable.

**Suggested search terms:** "California business attorney flat fee SaaS", "California attorney advertising compliance flat fee", "Avvo / Martindale: business attorney + Los Angeles + flat-fee consultation".

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**To:** *(attorney name)*
**Subject:** Flat-fee opinion request — California directory platform compliance (4 questions)

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I'm a non-lawyer operator of a California-licensed-attorney directory and software platform. The site is live at lawyers.agentabrams.com (working brand: Counsel & Bar). I'm writing for a written opinion on four specific compliance questions before I begin any paid customer acquisition. I'm prepared to pay a flat fee for written answers — please quote.

**About the operation:**
- I display California-licensed attorneys, sourced from the State Bar's public licensing database, organized by city and practice area.
- Consumers can fill out an inquiry form and view a list of licensed firms in their area; **the consumer chooses who to contact**. I do not auto-route, broker, or share consumer details with firms.
- I sell two products to attorneys: a one-time $499 website rebuild ("EZ Upgrade") and a $29/month subscription ("Lawyer Pro") for engagement features (review responses, profile editing, lead alerts surfaced inside the platform). Pricing is flat — never per case, per lead, or contingent on outcome.
- I sell a separate data product (CSV exports of attorney directory information sourced from State Bar public records) to business buyers under a use restriction prohibiting unsolicited bulk SMS, robocalls, or unlawful purposes.
- I am not licensed to practice law in any jurisdiction.

**The four questions** (please answer each in writing, brief is fine):

1. **§6155 LRS scope.** Given that I do not auto-route consumer details, do not charge attorneys for placement of any specific consumer, and present a directory the consumer browses themselves — does my operation fall outside California Business & Professions Code §6155's definition of a "lawyer referral service"? If you see exposure, what specifically would I need to change?

2. **Rule 5.4 / fee-splitting.** Do the flat $499 (one-time website rebuild) and $29/month (engagement-tools subscription) fees create any fee-splitting concern under Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct 5.4, given that neither price is contingent on a case outcome or a specific consumer being placed?

3. **Rule 7.x lawyer-advertising compliance.** I display attorney profiles populated from State Bar public records, plus content the attorney supplies after claiming a listing. Do I (the platform) have any independent advertising-rule obligation under 7.1 / 7.2 / 7.3 / 7.5 — separate from the attorney's own obligation for content they post — that I should address with disclaimers, gating, or content review?

4. **Data marketplace use restrictions.** The CSV export carries a contractual restriction (no bulk SMS, no robocalls, no unlawful purposes). If a buyer violates that restriction and the violated party complains to the State Bar or AG, what's my exposure as the seller? What contractual or operational safeguards should I add (acceptance click-through, audit trail, indemnification language) before going public with this product?

**Format I'd like:**
- Brief written answer to each of the four questions
- A short list of any additional risks you spot in the operation as described
- An optional 30-minute call to discuss your responses

**Logistics:**
- I'd like a flat fee for this scope (please quote separately if a follow-up call is included)
- Engagement is single-scope; I am not retaining you ongoing
- I'm happy to sign a standard engagement letter and pay 50% on engagement, 50% on delivery of the written opinion
- Turnaround: ideally 14 days from engagement

I have a written internal compliance memo I can share under our engagement that walks through my current positions, the policies I've published (privacy, terms), and the technical controls I've put in place (no auto-routing, fail-closed Stripe webhook verification, admin-gated marketing mockups). Happy to send once you respond.

Thank you for your time.

**Steve Abrams**
*Operator, Counsel & Bar (lawyers.agentabrams.com)*
steve@designerwallcoverings.com