Before You Refer Your Personal Injury Clients, Ask These Four Questions

As a trusted professional, clients, friends, and family contact you for all sorts of legal questions. While some inquiries are within your area of expertise, there are times when you need to refer a potential client to a specialist. If the client has a serious personal injury claim, there are special considerations you should address before referring them to a personal injury lawyer.

Does the lawyer have excellent personal injury experience?

Gone are the days when a lawyer could dabble in personal injury cases. Experience matters. Does the law firm you are considering have substantial experience? Have they handled thousands of cases? Look for a lawyer and law firm that limit their practice to representing personal injury victims and have done so for a long time.

Does the lawyer have a track record of success?

Handling personal injury cases is not enough; the lawyer must be successful in them. Ask if they have a proven track record of success for their clients. Have they obtained record verdicts and settlements? Do they push hard for their clients? Are they willing to take on tough cases or do they only handle the easy ones? Review the history of the lawyer and law firm to ensure they have been successful in representing their clients.

Does the firm pay referral fees?

Some law firms pay referral fees to the referring lawyer when a case is successfully resolved. This is not universal, so you should ask upfront if the law firm will be paying a referral fee and how much (typically a percentage of the total fee). This prevents any misunderstandings.

Does the firm maintain malpractice insurance?

Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5 requires that the referring lawyer maintains joint professional responsibility for the case. This means that you, the referring lawyer, are jointly responsible for the case. While no one expects bad things to happen, experience teaches that sometimes they do. You should ask the lawyer or law firm whether they maintain professional liability coverage. Review the coverage amount to ensure it meets or exceeds the value of the case.

At Dixon Law Office, we limit our practice to the representation of personal injury victims. For more than 24 years, that’s all we have done. Our founder, G. Grant Dixon III, has obtained countless record verdicts and settlements for clients. His work has earned him recognition as a Leading Lawyer, Super Lawyer, and Top 1% of Personal Injury Counsel in the nation. He and his team are trusted referral partners for many lawyers across the nation, quietly paying millions of dollars in referral fees. If you have a potential client to refer or just a question, you can reach us at 708-354-9880 or visit www.AttorneysMakingItRight.com.