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Rising Star
I have never heard of a plaintiff firm that did not offer referral bonuses for its employees. Was this not something you specifically discussed when you were hired? If you did specifically discuss it, and were told that they did not offer referral bonuses, then they have zero obligation to give you one.
The sad part is that you could refer that to any other plaintiff firm and be paid 33% of the attorney fee as a referral cut
Rising Star
For employees it varies. Usually the absolute minimum is 1/3 of the attorney fee (this is the standard in my state, NY, when referring cases to other counsel) and I’ve heard some firms offering employees as much as 50% of the attorney fee. I would discuss this with your employer ASAP, as the initial retainer statement that is filed with the OCA should have your name as the referring attorney.
Edit: I should add this is for personal injury. Med mal has a different fee structure
Ask for whatever you want, but be fully prepared to get nothing.
Yes, exactly. I’ve worked at both types of firms.
We always paid out employees 1/3rd if they brought the case in to us. We paid 10 percent if it came from an attorney who would be getting a 1/3rd fee. This changes If it is a med mal case
With a case this size, you definitely want to talk to your boss about origination and case value. This would be an easy way to transition into a fee split conversation. Your boss probably knows if you leave the firm, the client will follow you, so he/she should feel inclined (but certainly not obligated) to retroactively do a fee split.
the referral fee should be 1/3 of the attorneys’ fees, practically without exception
That’s insane. Why wouldn’t you refer out every case then?? You should be getting at least 1/3 of the fee. Your firm needs to get it together or it will see all those cases go elsewhere.