For attorneys · Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct 7.2(c)–(d)

Intermediary Connecting Service Certification

Last reviewed 2026-10-24. Print or save this page for your file; it is updated whenever the underlying product rules change.

FriendRE (friendre.net) is an online community for people buying, selling and owning homes in Illinois. Members may ask to be contacted by a local real estate agent, mortgage lender and/or real estate attorney. Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct 7.2 calls a service that passes such requests to lawyers an intermediary connecting service(ICS) and lets a lawyer participate after verifying the conditions in Rule 7.2(c). Under Rule 7.2(d) a lawyer may rely on the service's written confirmation. This page is FriendRE's confirmation.

FriendRE confirms that:

Rule 7.2(c)(3) — no legal advice or legal services. FriendRE does not give legal advice, prepare legal documents or otherwise practice law. Its assistant, Jane, is instructed never to give legal advice or interpret contracts and to refer legal questions to a licensed attorney; its output is monitored for compliance. FriendRE does not review, evaluate or triage a member's legal matter.
Rule 7.2(c)(4) — no false or misleading statements. FriendRE describes attorneys using only the information they supply and the fact that it checked their bar number and identity ("verified"). It does not call any attorney "top", "best" or "recommended", and does not rate or rank attorneys.
Rule 7.2(c)(5) — no improper solicitation. Every request originates with the consumer, who completes a form, ticks an unticked consent box and asks to be contacted. FriendRE does not contact prospective clients on an attorney's behalf.
Rule 7.2(c)(6) — ownership. FriendRE is not owned, controlled or managed by any participating attorney or law firm.
Rule 7.2(c)(7) — ratings. FriendRE does not use rating criteria for attorneys. Should it ever permit member reviews, the criteria will be published and attorneys will be able to dispute them.
Rule 7.2(c)(8)(i)–(ii) — fees. Attorneys pay FriendRE a flat monthly subscription (currently $29.99/month for the Professional plan) that is the same for every professional. FriendRE charges nothing per request, per connection, per hire or per closed matter. No fee is contingent on the outcome of any matter or calculated as a percentage of anticipated or actual legal fees. Placement in the rotation cannot be purchased.
Rule 7.2(c)(8)(iii) — no referral or recommendation. A request that asks for an attorney is assigned to one participating attorney at a time by a mechanical rule: the attorney's declared service area, or distance from the member when no service area is declared, then simple rotation among those who qualify. If the attorney does not accept within 12 hours, the request moves to the next attorney in rotation. FriendRE does not select on skill, experience, reviews or any assessment of the matter, and tells the member so on every request form. Members may also browse a directory of attorneys filtered by their own search and choose one themselves.
Rule 7.2(c)(8)(iv) — client funds. FriendRE never receives, holds or processes any payment a client makes for legal services or costs.

What FriendRE asks of participating attorneys

Hold an active Illinois law license, submit it for verification, and keep the bar number on your profile current.
Rule 7.2(c) requires you to disclose this relationship to the client at the time of the connection or at the outset of the representation, including that you pay FriendRE a subscription. FriendRE repeats this reminder in every new-request email it sends you.
Respond to a request only to answer the member's own inquiry; FriendRE's consent covers email, phone and text about that request.
If you believe FriendRE is not meeting any condition above, tell us at [email protected] so it can be corrected (Rule 7.2(e)).

This confirmation describes FriendRE's own conduct and is provided for an attorney's due diligence under Rule 7.2(d). It is not legal advice. FriendRE has not been reviewed or endorsed by the Illinois Supreme Court, the ARDC or any bar association. The full Rule 7.2 text is published by the Illinois Supreme Court. Related: Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Help.