How to refer a client back to the network administrator

Sometimes a potential client who was referred to you needs legal services that, for one reason or another, you may be unable or unwilling to provide. In those cases, you can refer the potential client back to the network administrator. There are two ways to refer a potential client back to the network administrator.

Method #1: Whenever you report that a matter has been closed, you receive an automated prompt that asks you if you would like to refer the potential client back to the network administrator. Simply click "Yes" to proceed with referring the potential client back.

Method #2: If the matter is ongoing between you and the potential client and you still want to refer the client back, you can expand the "Refer back to [Your Network]" section and click the appropriate button. This is good for matters where you are providing services but the client has other legal issues that require the help of an attorney in another practice area:

Regardless of which method you use to refer the potential client back to the network administrator, you are prompted to enter information about the reason for your request, as well as if the potential client consents to follow up from the network administrator (e.g. surveys, confirmation emails) and first contact by any attorney to whom they are referred:

Note that if the client doesn't consent to follow up or first contact by any attorney they are referred to, their only means of learning about any referral that the network administrator ultimately makes will be through you, the original attorney assigned to the matter, because you are the only person with authorization to communicate with the potential client. To ensure you are aware of this, our system provides an automated reminder if neither consent is selected and you click "Submit request".

Once you submit the request, your request is logged in the matter card, along with any notes you provided:

Note that, for client confidentiality reasons, you are not notified by the portal system as to whether the network administrator decides to refer the potential client to another attorney. However, the network administrator may notify you of the referral if the potential client didn't grant consent for follow up or first contact from the new attorney since -- as discussed earlier in this section -- you are the only channel through which the potential client could learn about the new referral.