My name is Edward…and I am a referral fee-payer

Having read correspondence in recent Gazettes about the question of referral fees, I have decided to form a new self-help group called Referrers Anonymous (RA). Anyone who pays referral fees to an introducer is welcome to attend, and has the opportunity to stand up, announce ‘I pay referral fees’, be applauded by the other participants, and commence the long process of recovery.

And no - this is not meant in any way to demean the sterling work undertaken by self-help groups; it is merely to highlight the fact that solicitors are sometimes placed in the position where they might have to pay fees to remain competitive in their local or national markets. This is, as your readers will recall, a well-established market economy in which we all trade. If you want or need to pay a referral fee to get work in to your firm, why should you be prevented from doing so?

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has long since established that, if the matter is properly managed and regulated, a referral fee system enables solicitors to compete with other ‘less regulated’ service providers, effectively providing a slightly more level playing field. Research has been undertaken and has established that there is no harm to consumers in operating such a system.

Yes, I admit it – ‘I pay referral fees’; but only in cases where my firm's introducers have signed a written referral agreement, and only where I send a letter to the clients at the outset of each respective matter, in the form required by the SRA. Not one client has complained about this system. In fact, most clients seem to know all about referral fees and the fact that they exist in many areas of the economy in one form or another.

I suppose that I am fortunate in that ‘referral fee cases’ only account for a very small proportion of the work that comes into my firm each month, and I am well aware that some firms rely almost entirely on paid introducers as their principal source of work; the remainder of my firm's work comes from the ‘traditional’ sources, such as previous clients or people who refer to us because of the quality service that we provide.

Is it not time for the profession to merely accept the position, stop moaning about it, and concentrate on other more pressing matters?

Edward Foster, senior partner, Fosters Law, Herne Bay, Kent