Bar's website features improved member search engine.

You've just returned from a CLE seminar, and reach into your briefcase for the business cards of the two lawyers who sat next to you and had an innovative idea for that appellate brief you're working on.

Oops. The cards are gone. All you can remember is Sharon from Gainesville and Carlos from Ft. Myers.

Don't despair. A new Florida Bar service for members and the public Bar can locate those attorneys in seconds. It's one of many new features on the Bar's Internet website, FLABAR ONLINE.

Go to the Bar's website (www.FLABAR.org) and on the homepage, click on "Find a Lawyer" in the Search Features box. That takes you to a page with four options: Attorney Search, Lawyer Referral Service, Board Certified Lawyers, and a link to the Bar's consumer pamphlet on how to find and hire an attorney.

Picking the first option whisks you to a page with a search engine. There's a space for last name, one for first name and one for city. Fill out the second and third slots with Sharon and Gainesville, respectively, and you get a list of the five Sharons who are members in good standing and practicing in Gainesville.

If that isn't enough to jog your memory, clicking on a name will provide more details, including date of admission to the Bar, sections she (or he) belongs to, phone and fax numbers, and the like.

Similarly, keying in the first name Carlos and Fort (the computer recognizes "Fort" but not "Ft.") Myers will turn up the one Carlos who practices there.

The improved member search engine comes as part of a new way of providing services to Bar members. Since the geographic member roster is no longer published as part of the September Bar Journal directory, the geographic list has been added to the Bar's website, with improved search capabilities.

There are actually four ways to search for a lawyer. The first, described above, searches by names in a given location, or for Bar members whose names match. The second is more like the traditional roster that appeared in the directory; visitors pick a state and then a city. Presented -- about 10 names at a time and in alphabetical order -- is a list of all Bar members in that city.

The third option presents the names of all members of Bar sections. And the fourth allows you to search by lawyers' areas of certification.

Another option referenced on this page of the website is to call the Bar's Lawyer Referral Service.

A maximum of 50 names will be returned for any search in order to ensure a quick response. If...