During the first four years of its operation, the Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) has handled 17,174 new inquiries from legal consumers. The number of new contacts peaked in 2004 for a yearly total of 5007 and 4685 new contacts for 2005. Currently, the Consumer Assistance Program handles an average of 21 new contacts from potential complainants per business day.

The Board established the Consumer Assistance Program in 2002 to handle problems between attorneys and complainants, which do not rise to the level of serious ethical violations. The program is designed to expedite the receipt and handling of minor ethical complaints through speedy informal mediation, explanation of misunderstood issues or referral to appropriate agencies.

It is of interest to note that the areas of practice which have generated the largest number of CAP contacts, in descending order are: Criminal, Domestic, General Civil, Personal Injury and Bankruptcy. The types of assistance given by CAP in descending order of frequency are: Advising General Information; Mediation of Communication; Mediation to receive Explanation; Mediation to achieve Action re : Case; and Mediation of Fee or Expense Questions. Referrals are to Fee Dispute Committees, Lawyer Referral Services or Pro Bono institutions.

A probable effect of CAP assistance over the four years of its existence is seen in the decline in the number of Complaint files opened by Disciplinary Counsel, even while the number of inquires to CAP increased. Disciplinary files opened have decreased in number from 1397 to 982 in the period 2001 through 2005. This is a decline of 29.7%. Significantly, in three categories of filed Complaints: Neglect, Relationship with Client, and Fees, (which are areas of much CAP assistance), there were declines also. These numbers decreased by 43% (Neglect), 15% (Relationship with Client) and 63% (Fees) over the four years that CAP has been assisting legal consumers.

The importance of this decrease in Complaints handled by Disciplinary Counsel, is that serious ethical violations can be handled more efficiently and thoroughly for the protection of the public. Also, less serious complaints stay out of the disciplinary process and can be speedily mediated to the benefit of both the legal consumer and the lawyer. Legal consumers and their attorneys have a resource to aid in the resolution of their misunderstandings. The public has access to information and referral, which, it is hoped, will increase their confidence in the fairness and accessibility of our justice system.

Cases By Type	2002	2003	2004	2005	Total
Bankruptcy	165	162	141	144	612
Collections	75	64	76	69	284
Criminial	1117	1167	1199	1280	4763
Domestic	872	732	769	660	3033
Estates	151	130	140	151	572
General Civil	294	292	231	171	988
Other	515	863	82	95	1555
Packet Request	0	0	1985	1776	3761
Personal Injury	229	197	180	190	796
Real Estate	118	61	94	65	338
Social Security	39	21	22	20	102
Worker's Compensation	109	109	88	64	370
Total Cases	3684	3798	5007	4685	17174
Action Taken
Advise Contact Attorney	836	320	137	153	1446
Advise General Information	2916	4546	6190	5793	19445
Advise Legal Advice / Second Opinion	145	312	265	339	1061
Advise Non- Ethics Questions	49	39	15	10	113
Discuss Attorney Termination	115	100	68	63	346
Mediate Communication	1099	1236	959	1131	4425
Mediate Explanation/Other	0	1263	1286	982	3531
Mediate Fee/Expense Questions	171	528	400	361	1460
Mediate File or Document Request	293	454	256	389	1392
Mediate Request for Action re: Case	889	642	544	591	2666
Request for Information	0	0	17	188	205
Total Actions	6513	9440	10137	10000	36090
Referrals
Referral Court of Judiciary	110	92	114	130	446
Referral Disciplinary Counsel	366	487	430	473	1756
Referral District Attorney	12	8	17	20	57
Referral Fee Dispute Committee	337	270	226	231	1064
Referral Lawyer Fund for Client Protection	24	20	13	3	60
Referral Lawyer Referral Service	317	240	190	214	961
Referral Other	165	179	148	183	675
Referral Pro Bono / Legal Aid	59	28	34	30	151
Referral TLAP	12	8	4	7	31
Total Referrals	1402	1332	1176	1291	5201