The “Bar Buddies” Program is designed to help attorneys who practice in the Palm Beaches connect and serve as a sounding board for each other. In particular, the goal of the Bar Buddies Program is to provide a way to obtain advice, ideas, suggestions or general information from fellow attorneys, with an emphasis on practicing with professionalism and civility. The Bar Buddies Program seeks to connect local attorneys in a manner that takes into account links between attorneys that reach beyond their law practice. To that end, an applicant will be matched with one attorney “Bar Buddy” based on multiple factors, including law school attended, current geographic location, hometown, and interests. Attorneys are strongly encouraged to sign up for this informal program to speak with attorneys both within and beyond their existing networks and practice areas.
Bar Buddies will likely have different skill sets and experience levels and may discuss a variety of legal topics. When substantive areas are discussed, the traditional formalities apply, such as ensuring no conflict of interest exists and maintaining an awareness of the attorney-client privilege. No attorney participating in the Bar Buddies Program will be expected to do any legal research or review documents.
Neither the Palm Beach County Bar Association nor the Bar Buddies participants accept professional responsibility for any advice given. The Bar Buddies Program does not contemplate participants rendering any professional service to other participants and each participant must ultimately evaluate all advice received and exercise his/her own independent professional judgment on behalf of the client.