Referring lawyers — have a case you would like us to look at for you?
We welcome referrals from lawyers inside or outside of Alabama
Many of our cases — and particularly our bigger cases — come from referring lawyers who refer their consumer cases to us. While most people who send us cases are lawyers we have worked with for many years, we wanted to share this information primarily for lawyers we have not worked with so you will understand the process. We want to make any referrals as easy as possible for you.
Here’s what we will cover:
- What cases are we looking for?
- How do you know if you have a case?
- Do we pay referral fees and, if so, how much?
- Do we take cases outside of Alabama?
- What if you are not sure you want to refer the case — can we jump on a phone call and discuss your case?
We sometimes are in the role of referring lawyers and the information below is something that we have looked for when we are referring cases out. So we hope this is helpful to you and we’ll add to this list over time. Any suggestions you have are most appreciated!
What cases are we looking for?
We enjoy talking with other lawyers about any type of consumer case.
Here are the main types of cases we handle:
- Credit report errors — primarily using the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
- Debt collector abuse — mainly with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
- Annoying robo dialed calls including telemarketing calls — using the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
- Collection lawsuits against your clients
But if you have any type of consumer case, we are happy to chat with you about the case to see if and how we can help you.
How do you know if you have a case?
Just reach out to us. You can call us at 205-879-2447 and ask to speak to my partner Stan Herring or you can ask for me (John Watts). Usually, we are not available as we are in court or in a meeting but if you leave a message with our receptionist, we will get right back with you. Or you can email me at john@wattsherring.com or fill out our form here.
Do we pay referral fees and, if so, how much?
We do pay referral fees (complying with bar rules) on cases involving contingency fees or court-awarded fees. We do not pay referral fees on flat fees or hourly cases but those are rare.
Most of what we do involves suing an abusive company and we take those on a contingency fee arrangement. And most federal statutes have fee-shifting so if we are successful, the defendant can be ordered to pay our fees.
Normally our referral fee is 1/3 of whatever the fee is we receive. We find this to be a fair arrangement with our referring lawyers.
Occasionally we have someone who prefers to “co-counsel” and split the costs and work and we are happy to do that on a 50/50 basis.
Do we take cases outside of Alabama?
We do if the size makes it practical to do so. Let’s say you are in Georgia or Florida and you want to get us involved in a case in your state. We are not licensed there so you would need to help us get admitted pro hac vice. And normally in these situations, we are doing more of a co-counsel arrangement with you where we are splitting the work, the costs, and the fees.
But we are always open to talking about your case and even if we can’t help you directly, maybe we can help you think it through. Always willing to chat and help any way we can.
What if you are not sure you want to refer the case — can we jump on a phone call and discuss your case?
John Watts