Finding The Best Scranton Personal Injury Lawyer
An excellent way to find a personal injury lawyer if you are from Scranton is by contacting an attorney you know and asking for a referral.
A referring attorney is ethically bound to refer clients to someone who will zealously pursue the case. Therefore, you need to investigate the background of any lawyer you are considering for a referral. Lawyers generally receive referral fees when they send PI clients to one another. Attorneys who receive referrals will have to divide the fees with the referring lawyers. Therefore, they may be less motivated to push for the best possible settlement. They may be willing to settle low since they will not collect the full fee. This is why clients are entitled to know how attorney fees will be divided.
In Pennsylvania, clients must be advised if a referral arrangement exists, although disclosure of the details is not mandated. The agreement need not divide the fee based on the amount of work performed, but the total fee must be reasonable. You may find more details about these rules in published ethics opinions. See, for example,http://www.philadelphiabar.org/ (with links to ethics opinions such as Opinion 93-13 concerning referral fees). Check your state’s law on this topic.
If the attorneys are aware that the client is knowledgeable about referral fees, they will be less likely to treat the case differently from one they are handling solo. To avoid misunderstandings, the best practice is to confirm in writing all fee arrangements—with clients, other lawyers, and anyone else who may reasonably claim payment for fees related to the case.
In some states, the referring attorney cannot receive a referral fee unless he or she handles a portion of the case. The referral fee cannot exceed the proportionate amount of work performed. The rules of ethics vary from state to state. If you have a concern about a referral fee, call your state bar association.
NOTE: It is illegal for lawyers to pay referral fees to non-lawyers. If a non-lawyer asks you for money for sending new cases, politely decline.
For more information on finding the best injury lawyer, click here.
