(1) It is the intent of the legislature that reasonable legal services be provided to persons committed to the custody of the department of corrections. The department shall contract with persons or organizations to provide legal services. The secretary shall adopt procedures designed to minimize any conflict of interest, or appearance thereof, in respect to the provision of legal services and the department's administration of such contracts.

(2) Persons who contract to provide legal services are expressly forbidden to solicit plaintiffs or promote litigation which has not been pursued initially by a person entitled to such services under this section.

(3) Persons who contract to provide legal services shall exhaust all informal means of resolving a legal complaint or dispute prior to the filing of any court proceeding.

(4) Nothing in this section forbids the secretary to supplement contracted legal services with any of the following: (a) Law libraries, (b) law student interns, and (c) volunteer attorneys.

(5) The total due a contractor as compensation, fees, or reimbursement under the terms of the contract shall be reduced by the total of any other compensation, fees, or reimbursement received by or due the contractor for the performance of any legal service to inmates during the contract period. Any amount received by a contractor under contract which is not due under this section shall be immediately returned by the contractor.