Guide

Referral calls: handling callers sent by clients and attorneys

A referred caller arrives with trust the firm did not earn on this call. The desk can keep it or waste it.
Last reviewed October 29, 2026 · By Dr. Jeffrey Scott Stanton, DCH

What makes a referred call different

The caller has already heard good things, or at least a name. They are less likely to compare and more likely to expect that the firm knows what they need. They are also more likely to be disappointed by a flat or rushed call, because the bar was set by someone they trust.

A referral from another attorney adds a second audience: the attorney who sent the caller will judge the firm by how that caller was treated.

On the call

Ask how they heard about the firm and record the name. This is the most commonly skipped step, and the Referral Hesitator pattern avoids it.
Say thank you, once and briefly. Do not claim to know the referrer unless the person actually does.
Do not share information about the referrer or other clients. Confidentiality applies to everyone.
Run the same call. The five stages and the fee conversation do not change because someone was referred.

See the Referral Hesitator pattern.

Close the loop

Log every referral source with the caller and the outcome.
Let the attorney or manager decide how the firm thanks referrers and confirms with another attorney, within the firm's rules on referral fees and communication.
Review the source report monthly. A firm that cannot say where its referrals come from cannot protect them.

"Thank you for calling. May I ask how you heard about us? ... Thank you. I will let the attorney know that you called."

Example wording only. Whether and how the firm contacts a referrer is its own decision.

Rules the firm should settle first

Referral arrangements between attorneys, and any payment connected to them, are regulated and vary by jurisdiction. Intake does not discuss them. The firm sets the policy with its attorneys and gives intake a short, approved line for referral questions.

Keep reading

Scope, plainly: everything on this site concerns the conversation that turns an inquiry into an engagement. Nothing here is legal advice, nothing touches the legal work or the attorney's judgment, and any wording a firm adopts is reviewed by the firm against its jurisdiction's rules on attorney advertising, solicitation and fee communication before it is used.

About the Author

Dr. Jeffrey Scott Stanton, DCH is a behavioral strategist and the founder and Chief Learning Officer of R2R Diagnostic Group. He is the former EVP of Learning & Development at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, where he trained sales professionals on the conversations that turn an inquiry into a commitment. He applies the same method, the R2R Assessment and a 14-item call-review scorecard, to law firm intake teams. The work is the conversation only; legal questions and judgment stay with the attorney.

The method, the scripts and the scorecard are on how it works, the script template and the scorecard guide.

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