Members Helping Members

The MSBA Colleagues program allows MSBA members to connect with other MSBA members who have experience in specific areas of the law and who are willing to share their knowledge through brief telephone or e-mail discussions. The program encourages and facilitates appropriate lawyer-to-lawyer consultations, referrals, and associations. MSBA Colleagues, however, is not open to the public and is not intended as a referral guide for the public. For this reason, you must sign in to practicelaw as an MSBA member to use the service.

How to Use MSBA Colleagues

1. Choose the area of law involved in your question from the list of specific areas of law listed on the MSBA Colleagues home page. Click on that specific area of law. If you do not see the area of law involved in your issue, let us know or choose an area of law that otherwise best fits the issue.
2. When you click on a specific area of law, you may be asked to sign in as an MSBA member if you have not already signed in. Subsequently, you will see a list of MSBA members who have agreed to provide brief advice or consultation in the selected area of law. This initial list can be refined further by "tags" that appear to the right of the initial MSBA Colleagues list. What's a Tag?
3. After you have filtered the MSBA Colleagues list to the specific area of law involved in your issue, contact one of the MSBA Colleagues from the list, either by phone or by e-mail.
4. IMPORTANT: When you contact an MSBA Colleague, you and the MSBA Colleague should be ready to identify parties, counsel, and any other issues relevant to a general conflict check. For this reason, if you use e-mail to contact the Colleague initially, do not discuss your question or issue in detail until you have heard back from the MSBA Colleague about the procedure to follow to check for potential or real conflicts. At all times, the MSBA Colleagues program requires participants to know, understand, and follow all requirements of the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct.
5. If you and the MSBA Colleague have no conflicts that would prevent a brief discussion about your issue or question, you should be prepared to describe and discuss your issue with the MSBA Colleague.
6. MSBA Colleagues panelists serve on a volunteer basis. Please be mindful of the panelists' time - the program is intended for brief discussions to put you on track toward resolution of your issue. You should not expect an MSBA Colleague to solve your issue or engage in a long and detailed analysis of your legal matter.

Terms and Conditions of Use

1. The Minnesota State Bar Association makes no representation as to the knowledge or experience of any MSBA Colleague.
2. Neither the Minnesota State Bar Association nor any MSBA Colleague assume any liability or responsibility about the response to any inquiry made pursuant to the program.
3. MSBA Colleagues does not contemplate that panelists will provide professional services. Rather, the MSBA Colleague will provide general guidance and suggest areas for further investigation and consideration. You must ultimately exercise your independent professional judgment on behalf of your client.
4. Discussion of fees and the "general or normal fee" for legal services may constitute a violation of federal and state antitrust statutes. Please avoid, if at all possible, discussing "normal" or "customary" fees to charge in handling a matter.