Best Practices in Making and Sending Referrals
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Making a successful referral is a professional skill we all need to be good at. Discomfort in doing this is sometimes the reason a lawyer defaults to choosing someone they are comfortable with even if it is not the right person for the job. In an effort to encourage successful referrals, particularly to Alliance firms, we have prepared this best practices guide. Please share it with the lawyers in your firm and consider posting in on your intranet where you post information on how to use the Alliance.
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INT E R N ATI ON A L A L L I A NCE O F LAW FIRM S BEST P RACT ICE S IN MA KING A ND SEND ING REFERR A LS
Alliance Members commit to giving high-quality service to referred clients. This commitment applies both to the legal work and to the delivery of that legal work. Members should be accessible (easily contacted even on weekends or holidays), responsive (prompt replies to referral communications) and timely (referral matters completed on schedule). These Best Practices are intended to help all Members give the kind of referral service that keeps referrals coming. Inform all of your professionals and support staff about the Alliance and about how to handle Alliance referrals. Use these Best Practices in your training. The referral lawyer should communicate regularly, candidly, and completely with the referred client and the referring lawyer. This is especially important for referrals from cultures that expect a lot of communication. The referral firm should not undertake work that it is not competent to handle. If the matter is outside the referral firm’s capabilities and experience it should (with the approval of the referring lawyer) refer the client to other lawyers in the jurisdiction that can handle the matter. Do not refer problem clients to other Alliance Members without disclosing the situation. The referring lawyer should not refer a client he or she knows to be unscrupulous or dishonest without disclosing that fact. If the referring lawyer does not know the referred client well enough to vouch for the client’s integrity and honesty, he or she should so advise the referral lawyer. 3
Accessibility and Responsiveness
For the Referring Lawyer
For the Referral Lawyer
In your initial referral communication, send your email to
Make it easy for referrals to reach you. Include in
both Alliance delegates listed in the Directory of members.
your firm’s listing on the Alliance website your e-email
If you are reaching out to another lawyer in the firm to
addresses, direct dial telephone numbers, cell phone
make a client referral, please copy the two delegates
numbers, and fax numbers for both delegates in your firm.
on the initial communication so that they are aware of
Include a general firm e-mail address that brings incoming
your request. We recommend that you request prompt
messages to the attention of your staff.
confirmation of receipt of your email. In some cultures, it may not be customary to confirm receipt. Persist if there is no answer to your initial communication. Email may not be answered because the addressee is away, or because of a local holiday, or because a spam filter blocked the message, or because the addressee’s computer is temporarily “down.” Follow up by fax or telephone. As well, you can contact the Executive Director and ask that our head office assist you with follow-up if necessary. If the matter is urgent, say so in the initial message and copy others at the referral firm. The urgency may not be readily apparent to the referral lawyer. In situations of
Promptly confirm receipt of referral communications. The referring lawyer needs to know that you have received their message and will respond. Let referring lawyers know that you are away. Instruct your staff how to respond in your absence to referral communications. In addition, record a voicemail message and provide for a bounce back email message that inform senders or callers of your absence and tell them who to contact in your absence. Pick up your messages regularly. When you are away from the office, access your email regularly and call in regularly to pick up your voice mail messages.
great urgency, a fax or telephone call is advisable. Before concluding that your message was ignored, check your own spam filter. The referral lawyer’s response may have been blocked by your own system. When sending the initial message, enter the email address to which it is sent into your spam filter as an approved source. Most spam filters have “whitelists” for the entry of precleared email addresses to prevent them from being blocked.
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INT E R N ATI ON A L A L L I A NCE O F LAW FIRM S BEST P RACT ICE S IN MA KING A ND SEND ING REFERR A LS
Timeliness
For the Referring Lawyer
For the Referral Lawyer
Discuss your expectations at the outset. Agree with the
Give time estimates, even if not requested. Always assume
referral lawyer on the timetable for the completion of the
that for the client and the referring lawyer time is of the
referred matter.
essence. Do not underestimate how long the work will
Ask for status reports. Ask the referral lawyer for periodic status reports on the progress of the engagement.
take, since this may create unrealistic client expectations. Do not just promise what the client wants; promise what you can deliver. Alert the client and the referring lawyer if there are unforeseen delays. Projects sometimes get delayed for causes beyond the lawyer’s control (e.g., force majeure or delays by the other side in a lawsuit or transaction). Sometimes the work takes longer than was anticipated. Give the client a revised time estimate. Even if not requested, send periodic status reports to the referred client and the referring lawyer.
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Cross-Cultural Communications
Keep your messages short and clear. Take the time to write with brevity and clarity. The reader may have to translate your message and the longer the message, the more time it will take to translate. Don’t use slang. For example, US lawyers know what they mean by saying “we buried the other side,” but lawyers in other parts of the world may find it unclear. Don’t assume similarities in legal systems. The question “When will the trial be held?” assumes that there will be a “trial” in the common-law sense of the term. The civil law dispute resolution process, however, consists of pleadings, multiple “hearings” before a judge involving the parties and/or their counsel, and finally a decision-making stage, with briefing and argument before several judges. If the referring lawyer really wants to know “When will the client have to be present?” he should ask that question. If there is anything that you do not understand, ask! Communication is sequential. A communication failure at any stage clouds future communications. Questions are never inappropriate. Failing to ask them may be a serious error.
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INT E R N ATI ON A L A L L I A NCE O F LAW FIRM S BEST P RACT ICE S IN MA KING A ND SEND ING REFERR A LS
Fees and other Terms of Engagement
Discuss and agree upon fees and cost reimbursement at the outset of a referral. Fees and arrangements for reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenditures (e.g. court costs or expert witness fees) should be settled before work begins and should be updated if the scope of the engagement changes. The referral lawyer should, if requested, furnish a good faith, non-binding fee estimate. Retainer arrangements should be established at the outset. Take the necessary time for referral firms to understand and knowledgeably agree to budgets and/or alternative fee arrangements. Clients sometimes expect their law firms to provide detailed budgets or to accept alternative fee arrangements. Some Members may not be familiar with what is required to meet these client expectations. To avoid later problems, time should be spent at the outset to be sure that the referral firm understands and can accommodate such arrangements. Discuss billing frequency and payment responsibility at the outset. The parties should establish who (client, referring lawyer) will be billed and on what basis (monthly, quarterly, at the end of the engagement, etc.). In many jurisdictions the referred client is considered, and must be recorded as, the referral firm’s “client,” even though billings and communications are sent in care of the referring firm. Unless the referring firm clearly agrees to accept responsibility for the payment when due of the referred client’s legal fees and expenses, the referral firm must look solely to the referred client for payment. The referring lawyer should candidly inform the referral firm if it has any reason to doubt the referred client’s ability or willingness to pay its legal fees and expenses. Discuss staffing at the outset. The referral lawyer should tell the referring lawyer and the referred client how the matter will be staffed. Unless otherwise agreed to by the referring lawyer and the referred client, only partners, associates, and other professional or paraprofessional employees of the referral firm should staff matters. In all cases matters should be staffed by those best qualified to handle them. Be aware of and discuss ethical issues and concerns. The ethics rules (rules of professional conduct) vary between legal systems and, even in the same system, from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Issues that may arise include conflicts of interest, confidentiality of client information, and lawyer-client privilege. Ask about the customary role of lawyers in the referral jurisdiction. In some cultures, the lawyer is a proactive problem- solver, while in others he or she is more restrained, answering defined questions. In some cultures, lawyers play an active role in negotiating, while in others they more commonly advise the client behind the scenes. In litigation, the lawyer is in some cultures a fiery advocate, giving no quarter, while in others he is more an officer of the court, engaged together with the judge and other participants in seeking the truth and applying the law.
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Alliance Headquarters 527 Marquette Avenue South, Suite 1925 Minneapolis, MN 55402 USA Tel. +1 612 454 5242 Email: ExecutiveDirector@ialawfirms.com ialawfirms.com