At some point in almost every young lawyer’s career, he or she will be faced with a situation that involves the referral of a case. You may be hoping to receive referrals from other attorneys, or you may need to refer a case to a colleague. For those less experienced with referrals, the following insights on how to navigate both sides of the process may be helpful.
On one side of the referral relationship is the attorney who receives the referral from a colleague. For young lawyers who are expected to generate business for their firms and practice in areas such as personal injury, family law or commercial litigation, direct referrals are an important source of cases and clients. However, finding attorneys who have cases to refer and actually getting them to refer those cases to you can be foreign territory. The following are a few tips for building your referral network:
