(a) A lawyer may not charge a potential client referred to the lawyer by a referral service an amount that exceeds the total cost the client would have been required to pay, including legal fees and expenses, if a referral service had not referred the client.
(b) The combined amounts of any fee charged to a potential client by the lawyer or the referral service may not exceed $20 for the first 30 minutes of the initial office visit with the lawyer.
(c) An agreement between a lawyer and a referral service to eliminate or restrict the fee for the first 30 minutes of an initial office visit with the lawyer does not violate any statute or rule, including Chapter 15, Business & Commerce Code.
(d) A fee charged under Subsection (b) may be used only to pay:
(1) the reasonable operating expenses of the referral service; or
(2) the expenses of a public service program, including a pro bono publico legal program.