For Lawyers.

We are the lawyers’ personal injury law firm. 95% of cases we handle are referred to us by other lawyers. Lawyers trust us because of our proven results, skill, and communication. Lawyers in our referral network recognize they can share in the attorneys’ fees when they refer a case. We have helped recover more than $100 Million for clients, including a $6 Million policy-limits settlement, $2 Million policy-limits settlement, and $1.7 Million jury verdict in Fulton County. We have also been involved in a number of other multi-million-dollar settlements. Our wins have helped our referral partners obtain more than $5 Million.

Short-term benefits. When a lawyer refers a personal injury case, the referring lawyer may share in the attorney’s fee. As explained below, fee sharing is ethical and can be arranged in a number of ways. Referring cases can be an additional source of revenue for lawyers, which can supplement their incomes and help their practices grow.

Long-term benefits. When you connect a client with a lawyer who is qualified to handle their case, the client will be happy and appreciative. The client will know you are someone who puts his needs first, which will increase your credibility with the client and the likelihood the client will come back to you in the future, maybe even with a legal matter that is in your wheelhouse and you can handle. That client is also more likely to send family, friends, and others who need legal advice to you—now that you are his trusted advisor. By helping the client, you are growing your network and your business.

A client’s needs and interests should always be a lawyer’s first priority. In personal injury cases, a client needs to be paired with a lawyer who will give the client the best possible chance to win the case and maximize the recovery.

The days of a lawyer being an expert in every area of law are over—especially in personal injury cases. Personal injury clients need a lawyer who is an expert in both the liability side of the case and in the type of injuries suffered by the client. If a client had a brain injury, you would send the client to a neurologist, who specializes in the brain—you wouldn’t send the client to a podiatrist, who specializes in foot injuries, or even to a general practitioner. So, if a client has a personal injury matter, you should send the client to a personal injury lawyer who specializes in that kind of injury case. Referring cases allows clients to have a more qualified lawyer, and ultimately, better representation.

Not only do personal injury cases need personal injury lawyers, a personal injury case may ethically require a personal injury lawyer. A lawyer must have the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation needed for the case—if not, the lawyer may be in violation of ethical rules. Rule 1.1 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct states:

A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation as used in this Rule means that a lawyer shall not handle a matter which the lawyer knows or should know to be beyond the lawyer’s level of competence without associating another lawyer who the original lawyer reasonably believes to be competent to handle the matter in question. Competence requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.

Comment 1B is also instructive:

In determining whether a lawyer employs the requisite knowledge and skill in a particular matter, relevant factors include the relative complexity and specialized nature of the matter, the lawyer’s general experience, the lawyer’s training and experience in the field in question, the preparation and study the lawyer is able to give the matter and whether it is feasible to refer the matter to, or associate or consult with, a lawyer of established competence in the field in question. In many instances, the required proficiency is that of a general practitioner. Expertise in a particular field of law may be required in some circumstances.

When considering whether to refer a personal injury case (or any case for that matter), it is always in the client’s best interest and the most reasonable ethical decision to refer the case to a lawyer who regularly handles those cases.