Georgia attorneys turn to McArthur Law Firm when a case falls outside their practice area or requires additional litigation and trial resources.
We handle referrals and co-counsel arrangements across Georgia, with particular focus on commercial trucking, catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death cases.
Referred cases are worked by our attorneys, with the referring lawyer’s role structured to fit the case and the arrangement chosen. To discuss a case, contact us at 478-238-6600.
Why Do Georgia Attorneys Refer Cases to McArthur Law Firm?
Our founder, Kathy McArthur, is one of a small number of Georgia attorneys holding board certification in Truck Accident Law from the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA), an ABA-accredited certification organization.
She also holds NBTA board certifications in Civil Trial Law and Civil Practice Advocacy, and she is board certified in Medical Professional Liability by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys (ABPLA), an ABA-accredited certification organization. She has practiced Georgia personal injury and medical malpractice law since 1980.
Firm-level, we have recovered more than $450 million for clients across our history. Our attorneys work out of offices in Macon, Atlanta, and Warner Robins, covering the state’s main freight corridors and the courts that serve them.
The case types that most often prompt a referral to our firm include:
- Commercial trucking and tractor-trailer crashes
- Catastrophic personal injury, including brain, spinal, and severe burn injuries
- Medical malpractice, particularly cases involving substantial damages
- Wrongful death cases across the state
- Multi-defendant cases requiring expert workup and litigation preparation
These cases require focused subject-matter knowledge, substantial resources, and preparation for litigation or trial.
What Types of Cases Are a Strong Fit for Referral or Co-Counsel?
The following case types are the strongest fit for our referral and co-counsel program.
Commercial Trucking and Tractor-Trailer Cases
Georgia trucking cases involving serious injury or death, federal motor carrier regulation issues, and multiple potential defendants are a strong fit.
That includes crashes involving hours-of-service violations, driver qualification failures, maintenance or cargo-loading issues, and claims against interstate carriers with substantial insurance coverage.
Cases that turn on evidence preservation, electronic logging data, and black box downloads are the ones this practice area is built around.
Catastrophic Personal Injury
Traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, severe burns, amputations, and other injuries producing substantial future medical costs and permanent impact on earning capacity fit here.
These cases often require life-care planning, vocational rehabilitation experts, and economists, all of which we routinely retain and work with.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice cases involving substantial damages are a fit, including Georgia birth injury cases, delayed diagnosis and treatment cases, and surgical error cases with serious permanent consequences.
Cases screened as not involving actual malpractice, or those without damages that justify the cost of prosecution, are declined at intake.
Wrongful Death
Wrongful death cases across a wide range of underlying causes fit our practice, including trucking, medical malpractice, Georgia product liability, and premises cases resulting in death.
Standing questions under Georgia’s wrongful death statutes are worked out early, and the interplay between the family’s wrongful death claim and the estate’s survival action is handled by our attorneys.
How Do Attorney Referrals and Co-Counsel Arrangements Work in Georgia?
A referral may involve no fee division or one of the two fee-division arrangements permitted under Georgia Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5(e). Choosing the right structure at the outset is part of the initial conversation.
Referral Without a Fee Division
A referring lawyer may introduce a prospective client and step away from the matter without any fee division. In this arrangement, the receiving firm handles the case under its own engagement with the client, and no fee is shared with the referring lawyer.
Proportional Fee Division
Under Georgia Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5(e), lawyers not in the same firm may divide a fee when the division is in proportion to the services performed by each lawyer.
This arrangement requires each lawyer to perform meaningful services on the matter, and the division of the fee tracks the services performed.
Joint Responsibility Fee Division
As an alternative to proportional division, Georgia Rule 1.5(e) permits a fee division based on written joint responsibility.
Under this arrangement, each lawyer assumes joint responsibility for the representation through a written agreement with the client, and the fee may be divided even when one lawyer performs more of the substantive work.
What Does Georgia Rule 1.5(e) Require?
Any fee-sharing arrangement under Rule 1.5(e) requires that the client be advised in writing of the share of the fee each lawyer will receive, that the client not object to the participation of all lawyers involved, and that the total fee be reasonable.
Fee arrangements are documented in a written agreement that names the client, both attorneys, and the specific division of fees. Case expenses are handled per the terms of the agreement.
What Cases We Are Not the Right Fit For
An honest referral network depends on knowing which cases to send and which to keep. We do not currently take on soft-tissue or minor-injury claims, and we typically refer those out ourselves.
Medical screening cases that turn out not to involve actual malpractice are declined at intake. Cases outside the practice areas listed above, where our subject-matter fit is thin, may also be declined.
When a case is not one we are positioned to handle, we say so quickly. That respects both the referring attorney’s time and the client’s interests.
FAQs for Georgia Attorney Referrals
Does McArthur Law Firm Pay Referral Fees to Georgia Attorneys?
Yes, in matters where the fee-sharing arrangement satisfies Georgia Rule 1.5(e). The specific structure, whether based on proportional services or written joint responsibility, is discussed and documented at the outset of the engagement.
Can the Referring Lawyer Remain Involved as Co-Counsel?
Yes. Co-counsel arrangements are common in referred cases and allow the referring lawyer to stay actively involved in the matter. The scope of that involvement, and how it fits within the fee arrangement, is set out in writing before the engagement begins.
What Information Should I Provide When Referring a Case?
Provide the client’s name and contact information, a summary of what happened, the date of the incident or injury, and any deadlines you have identified. In trucking cases and other matters with time-sensitive evidence, please note that expressly so we can act on preservation quickly.
How Are Referral Fees Divided Under Georgia Ethics Rules?
Under Georgia Rule 1.5(e), the fee is divided either in proportion to the services performed by each lawyer or based on written joint responsibility.
The client is advised in writing of each lawyer’s share, must not object to the participation of the lawyers involved, and the total fee must be reasonable.
Will McArthur Law Firm Communicate Directly With My Client?
Yes. Once representation begins, our attorneys communicate directly with the client on the matters we are handling.
Referring attorneys are kept informed of major developments throughout the case, and the level of ongoing communication with the referring lawyer is set at the beginning of the engagement.
Contact Us About a Referral
Founding Partner
To discuss a potential referral or co-counsel arrangement, contact our team directly. We generally respond within one business day, and initial case discussions are handled attorney to attorney.
A short conversation is usually enough to determine whether the case is a fit and, if so, how the arrangement would be structured.
Reach us at 478-238-6600 or through our contact page. If the case is time-sensitive, especially where trucking evidence retention is a factor, please indicate that in your initial message.
McArthur Law Firm – Main Macon Office
6055 Lakeside Commons Dr #400
Macon, GA 31210
Phone: 478-238-6600
