Referring a Case Out? Get the Paperwork Right

Every lawyer refers cases. A matter outside your practice area, a conflict, a client in another state, a case that needs trial resources you don't have. Sending it to the right lawyer is a service to the client.

Getting paid for that referral can be entirely proper. It can also become a bar complaint, a fee dispute or an unenforceable agreement if the paperwork isn't right. Here's what I'd want every referring lawyer to get right.

Paper it at the start.

A handshake and a percentage isn't a fee agreement. Put the division in a written agreement between the lawyers, and do it when the case is referred, not when the settlement check arrives.

The time to paper a referral is the day you make it, not the day it pays.

Get the client's written consent.

In most states, the client has to agree in writing to the fee division after being told who is sharing the fee and on what terms. California's rule, for example, requires the client's written consent after full written disclosure, given when the lawyers agree to divide the fee or as soon as reasonably practicable afterward. Don't let it slide to the end of the case.

Know your state's version of the rule.

The rules differ more than many lawyers realize. Under the ABA Model Rule, which many states follow in some form, a fee can be divided in proportion to the work each lawyer does, or the referring lawyer must take on joint responsibility for the matter. California does not require either one. Some states restrict referral fees further. Check the rule in every state involved before you agree to anything.

Joint responsibility is real responsibility.

Where your state requires it, accepting a share of the fee can mean accepting responsibility for how the case is handled. Treat it that way. Stay informed, and refer only to lawyers you would trust with your own client.

The client can't pay more because you referred it.

The total fee generally can't increase because two lawyers are sharing it, and it still has to be reasonable.

Never pay a non-lawyer for a case.

Paying someone outside the profession to send you clients is generally prohibited. If a referral source isn't a lawyer, there is no fee to share.

Hand off the file cleanly.

Confirm in writing who is responsible for the statute of limitations and every other deadline from the moment the referral is made. Send the file promptly, run a conflict check on the receiving side, and tell the client exactly who to call.

Refer for fit, not for the fee.

The referral fee should never decide where the case goes. The question is which lawyer gives this client the best chance. If you can't answer that honestly, keep looking.

Where Lexmatch fits.

The hardest part of a referral is often knowing who to send it to. Lexmatch searches the record behind every candidate, so you can send a case to a lawyer whose experience actually fits it, with the referral documented the way bar rules expect.

This article is general information for lawyers, not legal or ethics advice. Rules on fee divisions vary by state.