Since
lawyers
usually
cannot
handle
all
of
the
matters
that
cross
their
desks,
attorney
referrals
are
a
huge
part
of
the
legal
industry.
Oftentimes,
referrals
are
good
for
both
attorneys
involved
—
the
referring
attorney
can
maintain
contact
with
other
lawyers
and
ensure
a
client
is
looked
after
while
the
attorney
receiving
a
referral
gets
work. However,
sometimes
lawyers
have
matters
that
are
properly
handled
by
a
given
lawyer
for
free
or
turned
down
entirely
because
they
are
too
small,
lack
merit,
or
cannot
be
monetized. In
such
cases,
lawyers
can
hurt
other
attorneys
if
they
refer
such
matters
rather
than
handle
the
clients
themselves.
When
I
was
just
getting
my
law
practice
off
the
ground,
I
was
open
to
all
types
of
referrals. Some
really
helped,
but
at
other
times,
lawyers
simply
offloaded
their
friends
and
relatives
onto
me
when
they
did
not
feel
like
offering
free
legal
advice
to
people
they
knew.
For
instance,
one
time
someone
referred
their
mother
to
me.
She
felt
jilted
by
a
service
for
which
she’d
paid
a
few
thousand
dollars.
This
prospective
client
wanted
to
pursue
claims
against
the
service
provider
for
providing
work
that
did
not
live
up
to
expectations.
I
very
patiently
told
the
person
that
it
often
did
not
make
sense
to
engage
a
lawyer
to
pursue
claims
for
a
few
thousand
dollars.
Even
if
all
I
did
was
write
a
demand
letter
or
draft
litigation
papers,
the
amount
of
the
fees
could
easily
exceed
the
total
value
of
the
claim.
The
lawyer
who
referred
his
mother
to
me
should
have
just
written
his
mother
a
demand
letter
for
free
or
taken
some
action
on
her
behalf
by
himself.
Instead,
I
needed
to
spend
time
explaining
the
mechanics
of
the
claim
and
how
it
did
not
make
sense
to
hire
a
lawyer
even
though
I
did
not
have
a
pre-existing
relationship
with
this
lawyer’s
mother.
Another
time,
someone
referred
a
matter
to
me
—
also
worth
a
few
thousand
dollars
—
involving
an
area
of
the
law
with
which
only
specialized
lawyers
are
familiar. I
again
had
to
explain
how
it
did
not
make
sense
to
engage
a
lawyer
for
this
small
claim,
and
I
had
to
do
some
research
on
this
area
of
the
law
to
make
sure
that
I
did
not
give
this
person
the
wrong
advice. The
lawyer
who
tried
to
refer
this
matter
to
me
could
have
done
the
exact
same
amount
of
research,
and
he
should
have
done
it
rather
than
me
since
he
had
a
friendship
with
the
prospective
client.
Attorneys
may
think
they
can
pawn
off
matters
they
should
handle
themselves
without
significant
consequences,
but
such
referrals
can
have
a
negative
impact
on
a
law
practice. Many
lawyers
live
and
die
by
reviews
they
receive
online. Accordingly,
even
if
a
lawyer
refers
a
matter
that
cannot
be
monetized
to
another
attorney,
that
attorney
will
likely
need
to
do
some
level
of
work
on
the
matter
so
they
do
not
receive
a
bad
review. In
addition,
the
lawyer
receiving
the
referral
may
need
to
conduct
research
on
an
issue
and
waste
time
that
can
be
spent
on
other
work.
All
told,
every
lawyer
is
confronted
by
friends
and
family
members
who
have
small
legal
matters
or
questions
that
cannot
really
be
monetized
by
other
lawyers.
In
such
instances,
lawyers
should
usually
not
refer
the
matters
to
other
attorneys.
Rather,
they
should
help
their
friend
or
relative
themselves. Other
attorneys
usually
cannot
monetize
such
matters,
and
the
one
who
already
has
a
connection
to
such
friends
and
relatives
should
spend
the
time
needed
to
give
these
individuals
legal
advice.
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@rothman.law.