Referrals
are
a
common
practice
within
the
legal
profession,
and
this
column
has
previously
discussed
how
referrals
can
have
advantages
for
both
the
referring
attorney
and
the
lawyer
receiving
the
referral.
If
a
lawyer
is
too
busy
with
work,
or
they
do
not
have
expertise
in
a
particular
subject
matter,
they
may
refer
the
matter
to
another
lawyer
who
can
more
easily
handle
the
work.
However,
not
all
referrals
are
created
equal,
and
lawyers
should
often
not
refer
work
that
cannot
be
monetized
simply
because
they
do
not
want
to
deal
with
the
matter
themselves.
Shortly
after
beginning
my
law
practice,
I
received
all
kinds
of
referrals.
Some
of
the
referrals
helped
me
expand
my
practice
and
assisted
me
in
building
the
financial
foundation
upon
which
I
relied
as
a
self-employed
lawyer.
However,
I
also
received
a
number
of
referrals
that
were
not
helpful
and
took
time
away
from
better
referrals
that
could
help
me
expand
my
firm.
For
instance,
shortly
after
beginning
my
own
law
firm,
a
former
colleague
of
mine
asked
me
if
I
handled
real
estate
matters,
and
I
said
that
I
did.
This
lawyer
then
told
me
that
his
family
friend
had
a
real
estate
matter
that
he
wishes
to
discuss
with
a
lawyer.
When
I
talked
to
this
person’s
friend,
I
found
out
that
the
friend
was
disputing
around
$500
in
charges
that
his
landlord
had
deducted
from
his
deposit
for
alleged
damages
to
his
apartment.
The
friend
asked
me
for
advice
about
whether
the
charges
were
legally
justified
and
whether
to
take
legal
action
against
the
landlord.
I
was
frustrated
by
the
other
lawyer
for
referring
this
matter
to
me.
Since
the
matter
was
only
worth
$500
in
total,
there
was
almost
no
way
that
I
could
monetize
the
matter.
However,
I
had
to
be
considerate
to
the
person
who
had
the
legal
issue
since
I
did
not
want
this
person
to
write
a
negative
review
of
me
or
have
a
bad
experience
with
my
practice.
I
ended
up
spending
considerable
time
on
the
phone
with
this
person
and
communicating
by
email
to
make
sure
that
this
person
had
a
solid
grasp
of
his
legal
rights
with
respect
to
his
deposit.
It
was
obvious
to
me
that
this
lawyer
friend
of
mine
should
have
simply
assisted
the
friend
himself
and
not
passed
this
person
along
to
me.
The
lawyer
friend
could
have
easily
searched
for
relevant
information
and
assisted
the
person
with
his
legal
needs.
This
lawyer
friend
of
mine
had
a
prior
connection
to
this
person
that
I
did
not
have,
so
if
anyone
was
going
to
assist
this
person
without
a
financial
incentive,
it
should
be
my
lawyer
friend
and
not
me.
However,
the
lawyer
friend
used
me
as
a
“garbage
disposal”
instead
of
handling
the
matter
himself,
and
I
even
suspect
the
lawyer
thought
he
was
doing
me
a
favor
by
setting
me
up
with
the
person
who
had
legal
questions!
To
make
it
perfectly
clear,
I
am
not
saying
lawyers
should
never
offer
advice
for
free.
Indeed,
I
am
often
generous
when
it
comes
to
handling
small
matters
without
charge
to
friends
and
family
because
I
have
a
connection
to
the
people
I
am
serving.
Sometimes,
handling
tasks
for
free
can
lead
to
additional
work,
and
I
even
remember
a
time
when
I
was
in
Biglaw
in
which
we
handled
a
matter
for
free
for
the
relative
of
a
client
so
that
we
would
get
more
work.
However,
if
a
lawyer
is
approached
by
a
friend
or
relative
with
a
legal
issue
that
likely
cannot
be
monetized,
they
should
try
to
handle
the
matter
rather
than
refer
it
to
someone
else.
Before
lawyers
refer
work
to
others,
they
should
think
about
whether
a
matter
can
be
monetized
or
whether
it
is
the
type
of
matter
that
they
can
handle
as
a
favor
to
a
friend
or
relative.
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.