Find a licensed lawyer
find_attorneysRead-only
Use when someone wants a lawyer for a U.S. legal matter, e.g. "find an affordable tenant lawyer in Santa Ana" or "I was fired after complaining, who can help in Los Angeles". Needs state and matter type (or a short description). Returns up to 5 licensed lawyers with reasons, a relevance score, a separate data_confidence level, license source and check date, whether they are known to take private clients, directory profile links and a suggested citation, or an honest no-match with legal-aid options. Unknown fees and availability are labeled unknown. Court and government lawyers are left out unless they said they take private clients. Records an anonymous search log only. Not legal advice.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| zip | No | 5-digit ZIP code, only if the user agreed to share it | |
| city | No | ||
| court | No | ||
| limit | No | ||
| state | No | US state, two-letter code or name, e.g. CA or California | |
| county | No | ||
| urgency | No | ||
| category | No | ||
| languages | No | ||
| remote_ok | No | User is willing to work with a lawyer remotely (phone or video) anywhere in the state | |
| verbosity | No | compact leaves out the repeated license-check details on each result (status, source and dates stay); default full | |
| budget_max | No | Total budget the user mentioned, in US dollars | |
| budget_min | No | ||
| priorities | No | What matters most, in order. Shifts ranking weights. | |
| client_side | No | Which side the user is on. ESQ Matching Engine has no record of which side lawyers usually represent, so results carry a warning to ask. | |
| description | No | Short description of the legal need in the user's words. Used only to pick a practice area; not stored. | |
| matter_type | No | ||
| communication | No | ||
| deadline_date | No | A deadline the USER reported (hearing, filing, response). ESQ Matching Engine does not verify or calculate deadlines. | |
| deadline_type | No | ||
| practice_area | No | Practice area, e.g. 'Landlord-Tenant Law', 'Family Law', 'Criminal Law' | |
| service_needed | No | ||
| consultation_by | No | Latest date the user wants a first consultation | |
| procedural_stage | No | ||
| subpractice_area | No | ||
| attribution_token | No | Signed campaign/partner token issued by ESQ Matching Engine, if the user arrived through a partner link | |
| language_required | No | True if the language is essential, not just preferred | |
| preference_set_id | No | Saved criteria from update_matching_preferences | |
| billing_preference | No | ||
| min_years_licensed | No | ||
| accessibility_needs | No | ||
| payment_plan_needed | No | ||
| exclude_attorney_ids | No | ||
| max_consultation_fee | No | 0 means the user wants a free first consultation | |
| reduced_fee_eligible | No | User may qualify for pro bono, legal aid or reduced fees | |
| representation_start_by | No | Date as YYYY-MM-DD | |
| include_unconfirmed_practice_area | No | Also include licensed lawyers whose practice areas are not on record (labeled clearly) |
Output Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| message | No | ||
| notices | Yes | ||
| outcome | Yes | ||
| results | Yes | ||
| urgency | Yes | ||
| match_id | Yes | ||
| returned | No | ||
| legal_aid | No | ||
| how_ranked | Yes | ||
| next_steps | No | ||
| api_version | Yes | ||
| attribution | Yes | ||
| suggestions | No | ||
| ranking_note | No | ||
| data_coverage | No | ||
| rules_version | Yes | ||
| covered_states | No | ||
| eligible_count | No | ||
| engine_version | Yes | ||
| unmet_criteria | No | ||
| excluded_by_rule | No | ||
| low_cost_options | No | ||
| license_source_note | No | ||
| missing_information | No | ||
| representation_side | No | ||
| eligible_by_practice_evidence | No |