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Referring Cases Doesn\u2019t Mean Giving Up<\/h2>\n
Sometimes the hardest case to refer is the one\u00a0that is\u00a0bigger than your practice.\u00a0<\/strong>You know the client and earned their trust, and likely\u00a0handled their case from the beginning. But then the facts start coming into focus\u00a0and things shift. The case involves\u00a0catastrophic injuries, multiple defendants, complicated insurance issues, or a\u00a0trial\u00a0that\u00a0will\u00a0require resources beyond what your practice typically handles.<\/p>\n Once you realize your firm isn\u2019t equipped to handle a case, you must make an important decision whether to hand off the case completely, step back but continue handling some aspect of the case, or bring in co-counsel. Referring cases\u00a0does not mean giving up on your clients. Done well, it\u00a0actually\u00a0means building the right team around them.\u00a0This process begins with a conversation.<\/p>\n So, before you send over the file, here are five things we wish every referring lawyer would tell us.<\/p>\n Give me the 60-second version first.\u00a0Not the legal brief and not\u00a0the 300-page medical record. Just tell me\u00a0the basics of\u00a0what happened.\u00a0Who was injured? When did it happen? Who appears to be responsible?\u00a0What makes this case potentially significant?<\/p>\n These details give\u00a0the receiving lawyer a framework for everything that follows.\u00a0Complex cases can involve hundreds or thousands of documents. Without the story,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0easy to lose the forest for the trees.\u00a0A useful conversation when referring cases might sound like:<\/p>\n \u201cMy client was working at a chemical facility when an explosion\u00a0occurred. He suffered severe burns and a traumatic brain injury. We believe there\u00a0are\u00a0multiple\u00a0parties\u00a0involved, and we are concerned about evidence being lost. I have the initial medical records and incident report, but we haven\u2019t yet identified all\u00a0parties\u00a0involved.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n These details are enough to\u00a0start a meaningful conversation.\u00a0Start with the human story. The documents can come next.<\/p>\n While it may seem counterintuitive, what you don\u2019t know could be the most\u00a0valuable information\u00a0you\u00a0provide.\u00a0Every complicated\u00a0case has unanswered questions, and that\u2019s normal and expected.\u00a0Maybe you don\u2019t know who owned the equipment. Maybe the insurance information is incomplete. Maybe the medical prognosis is still developing.\u00a0Give us this information upfront.<\/p>\n A referring lawyer does not need to have\u00a0all the\u00a0answers\u00a0before reaching out. In fact, knowing what you\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know can help the receiving lawyer determine what needs to happen next.\u00a0Try making a short list:<\/p>\n That last category can become a roadmap for the\u00a0entire case.\u00a0This is especially important in catastrophic injury cases, where facts may develop over time and critical evidence may be controlled\u00a0by\u00a0third parties.\u00a0Uncertainty is\u00a0not a weakness in a referral, but hiding\u00a0uncertainty\u00a0can be.<\/p>\n Every case has a weakness, and the best referral partners don\u2019t pretend otherwise.\u00a0These weaknesses can appear in various ways.\u00a0Maybe the client gave an inconsistent statement. Maybe there is unfavorable social media\u00a0content. Maybe liability is complicated. Maybe there is a significant preexisting medical condition.<\/p>\n Knowing\u00a0about a weakness or\u00a0problem early gives everyone an opportunity to address it before the defense does.\u00a0One of the most useful questions a referring lawyer can answer is:\u00a0\u201cIf you were defending this case, what would you attack first?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That question forces everyone to think beyond the\u00a0plaintiff\u2019s\u00a0version of events.<\/p>\n This approach\u00a0also builds trust. When a lawyer says,\u00a0\u201cHere\u2019s the part of this case that concerns me\u00a0the most,\u201d\u00a0the conversation\u00a0is\u00a0much more productive.\u00a0The goal isn\u2019t\u00a0to talk yourself out of a case, but\u00a0to identify the problem while\u00a0you can still do\u00a0something about it.<\/p>\n This sounds\u00a0straightforward, but you might be surprised at how little information sometimes changes hands upfront. Before the case changes firms, explain what has already happened.\u00a0This\u00a0can prevent significant confusion later.<\/p>\n Have demand letters been sent? Has a suit been filed? Have depositions occurred? Has anyone inspected the accident scene? Have preservation letters gone out?\u00a0<\/p>\n And just as important\u00a0(if not more so):\u00a0What has the client been told?<\/p>\n Obviously, it is important to address whether\u00a0the client has abeen told\u00a0that\u00a0another firm will become involved. It is also important for the receiving attorney to know what\u00a0expectations\u00a0the client may have about\u00a0communication, fees, litigation strategy, and settlement authority.<\/p>\n There is no universal answer to how every referral relationship should work. Different lawyers and firms structure these relationships differently.\u00a0The important thing is that everyone understands the arrangement. In addition to your ethical duty to keep clients informed<\/a>, the client should never feel like their case disappeared into a black hole simply because two lawyers are figuring out who is doing what.<\/p>\n This may be the most important conversation attorneys have when referring a case. Important questions to address include:\u00a0<\/p>\n There is no wrong answer.\u00a0The problem\u00a0occurs\u00a0when nobody asks these\u00a0questions.\u00a0A referral relationship works best when the lawyers have an early conversation about roles, communication, decision-making, and expectations.\u00a0That doesn\u2019t mean everything has to be rigid. The important thing is to communicate.<\/p>\n A referral isn\u2019t a file that arrives in another lawyer\u2019s inbox.\u00a0It\u2019s the beginning of a relationship between attorneys, law firms and clients.<\/p>\n The lawyers who make the best referrals\u00a0are\u00a0the ones who communicate clearly about what happened, what they know, what they don\u2019t know, what concerns them, and what they want to accomplish for the client.\u00a0And that works both ways.<\/p>\n The receiving lawyer has a responsibility, too. Ask questions. Listen carefully. Respect the referring lawyer\u2019s relationship with the client. Communicate when something changes. Don\u2019t make assumptions.\u00a0Most importantly, remember that there is a person at the center of\u00a0every case.<\/p>\n For that client, the referral isn\u2019t an administrative transaction. It may be the moment they are trusting another lawyer to help with one of the most difficult experiences of their life.\u00a0Treat the relationship accordingly.<\/p>\n 5 Tips to Keep Referrals Flowing<\/a> by Robert Theofanis<\/p>\n When Is It OK to Pay a Referral Fee?<\/a> By Roy Ginsburg<\/p>\n Rewarding Your Referral Sources<\/a> by Sally Schmidt<\/p>\n Conflicts Checks: 5 Tips to Tune Up Your Process<\/a> by David and Karen Skinner<\/p>\n Photo by Radission US<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Steve Kherkher and Jesus Garcia | The hardest case to refer is the one\u00a0that is\u00a0bigger than your practice. But making a referral doesn’t mean giving up o your client. The post 5 Things We Wish Every Referring Lawyer Would Tell Us Before Sending a Case appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law Firms […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-162310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal_matters"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162310\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Tell Me the Story Before You Send Me the File<\/h2>\n
2. Tell Me What You Don\u2019t Know<\/h2>\n
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3. Tell Me What Scares You About the Case<\/h2>\n
4. Tell Me What You\u2019ve Already Done\u00a0and What You\u2019ve Told the Client<\/h2>\n
5. Tell Me What You Want the Relationship to Look Like<\/h2>\n
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The Best Referrals Start With a Conversation<\/h2>\n
More Tips on Referring Cases and Receiving Referrals<\/h2>\n