Fee-splitting rules, agreements, ethics, and earning revenue from referred cases.
A bar referral service and an attorney-to-attorney referral are both called referrals, but they work very differently. Here is how each connects lawyers with work, how the money flows, and when to use which.
Someone sent you a great client and you want to say thank you. A nominal, unpromised gift is generally fine. A payment tied to referrals is not. Here is where the line falls.
Pay-per-lead pitches promise a steady stream of clients, but the ethics are nuanced. Here is what Rule 7.2 allows, where advertising ends and a prohibited recommendation begins, and what to check before signing.
A finder fee is routine in business, but for legal clients it is mostly a trap. Here is why paying a non-lawyer to find you clients is generally prohibited, and how to build a client base cleanly.
A lawyer and a financial advisor who send each other clients often wonder if they can pay for the referrals. Generally no, but a non-exclusive reciprocal arrangement without payment can be allowed. Here is the line.
A doctor, an accountant, or a former client sends you business and hints at a cut. Can you pay it? Generally no. Here are the two rules that bar it, the narrow exceptions, and what you can do instead.
A fee division can be agreed years before it pays, which makes records essential. Here is what to document, how to track a split until it is collected, and the gaps to avoid.
A common worry is that involving a second lawyer means a bigger bill. It does not. Here is where a shared fee actually comes from, why it cannot inflate the client cost, and how to explain it.
Fee splitting is legal, but the mistakes around it are what draw ethics complaints. Here are the most common fee division errors that lead to discipline or lost fees, and how to avoid each one.
A referral fee and a co-counsel fee are both ways to share a fee, but they describe different arrangements. Here is what separates forwarding a matter from working it together, and why the distinction matters.
Fee splitting is common, useful, and widely misunderstood. This plain-English guide explains what it is, how it differs from a referral fee, when it is allowed, and the basic rules.
Many lawyers assume fee sharing is only for contingency cases. It is not. Here is how a fee division works in hourly and flat-fee matters, and the referrals that opens up.
