Attorneys often refer matters or prospective clients to other attorneys. A few of the biggest reasons why lawyers refer work to other attorneys: a given lawyer does not handle the type of legal issue involved in a particular matter, the attorney is too busy, or the attorney just does not want to work with a given client. Lawyers and clients evaluate numerous qualities of attorneys when deciding whether to secure counsel, but perhaps the most important part of landing a representation is responding to the referral quickly. In my experience, lawyers have missed out on handling lucrative matters simply because they took longer to follow up with the referral than other attorneys.
Earlier in my career, a client had a legal matter in a jurisdiction in which I practice. I knew several lawyers who practiced law in this jurisdiction, and I started calling my contacts to see if any of my acquaintances wanted to handle the matter. I first called the acquaintance with whom I was closest. This person attended law school with me and was always nice to me when we were students. I thought it would be great if I could give this work to my former classmate to solidify my connection to him and somewhat reward him for being a good guy during law school, which is a stressful environment.
Unfortunately, when I called my former classmate, he was not in his office. I left a voicemail and told this lawyer that he should call me back as soon as he could since I had an interesting matter to refer to him. I gave my friend a few hours to get back to me, but my client was expecting the name of a local counsel that day so that we could get started on defending a matter on an exigent basis. Accordingly, I started looking for other lawyers who might accept the referral.
I once took a deposition in the state in which this legal matter was pending, so I started digging through old emails to find the name of an attorney with whom I had had dinner who presumably also practiced law in the jurisdiction in which I needed to secure local counsel. I did not know this person nearly as well as my law school classmate, but this attorney seemed competent, and I thought she would get a kick out of hearing from me and discussing a potential referral. After some searching, I found this lawyer’s contact information and called her office line.
This lawyer picked up right away and seemed like she remembered me, which is not that unusual since I am one of the tallest lawyers around. She said that she would be happy to take the referral, and soon enough, I connected her with my client, and she was retained to defend the client shortly thereafter. The matter ended up being very lucrative for this lawyer, since it was complex and lasted a few years.
My law school classmate did get back to me a day or two after I left him a voicemail about the potential referral. I felt bad that he had missed out but conveyed that the client had already secured different counsel for the case. My former classmate sounded bummed, but I told him I would consider him for future legal matters in his jurisdiction.
It can be difficult to respond to referrals when people are on vacation, in court, or handling all manner of tasks within the legal profession. However, if a lawyer is on the hunt for new work, it is important that they respond to referrals as soon as possible. Any delays in responding to a referral might mean that someone else will get the work, not necessarily because they are more competent, but simply because they are the first person to respond.
Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.