Track & Pay Referral Fees.
Both Sides of the Ledger.
Attorney referral fee software for personal injury and contingency law firms
Disbo tracks the attorney referral fees your firm owes to referring attorneys and the fees owed to you from referred cases — calculating splits at settlement, generating compliance documentation, and paying directly from the IOLTA disbursement workflow.
- Track payables and receivables on every referral arrangement
- Automatic fee calculation from agreement percentage and net attorney fee
- Client disclosure letters generated per jurisdiction
- Referral fee paid in the disbursement workflow — no separate check required
Integrates with the tools you already use
Every firm tracks referral fees they owe. Almost none track what's owed to them.
Referral fees in a contingency practice run in both directions. Your firm pays fees to attorneys who refer cases to you. Your firm earns fees from cases you've referred to other firms. In practice, most firms have a rough system for the first and almost no system for the second.
The payables side has urgency — you need to pay the referring attorney when the case settles. The receivables side feels more passive — another firm will pay you eventually. That asymmetry is where money goes missing. Cases referred out settle without the referring firm knowing. The payment arrives late, short, or not at all because neither firm had a reliable tracking system.
And then there's the compliance layer. Referral fee agreements must be in writing. Client consent must be documented. Disclosures must match the requirements of the jurisdiction. Firms that handle referral fees casually — a handshake, a spreadsheet, a memo — are accumulating bar exposure case by case.
Disbo's referral fee module handles both directions: tracking payables and receivables, automating calculation and payment, and generating the documentation the bar requires — without a separate system or manual process.
What attorney referral fee software does
Purpose-built referral fee software connects the referral agreement to the settlement disbursement — so the fee is calculated correctly, documented properly, and paid automatically, without a separate manual step.
Agreement tracking
Each referral fee agreement is linked to the matter it covers: referring attorney, agreed percentage, split basis (gross vs. net fee), and any joint responsibility terms. The agreement is stored in the matter record and surfaced at settlement when the calculation runs.
Automatic fee calculation
At settlement, Disbo calculates the referral fee from the agreed percentage applied to the net attorney fee — not the gross settlement. Multi-party splits and co-counsel arrangements are supported. The calculated amount is included in the disbursement sheet for review before payment.
Receivables tracking with reminders
Cases your firm has referred out are tracked as referral fee receivables. When a referred case reports a settlement, Disbo sends an automated reminder that the fee is collectible. No more relying on the receiving firm to notify you when they close a case.
Compliance documentation
Disbo generates client disclosure letters in the format applicable to the jurisdiction, fee-sharing agreement records, and payment confirmation for each referral fee paid. These documents satisfy the written consent and disclosure requirements of the applicable bar rules.
Why tracking both payables and receivables matters
Payables: what you owe
- Fees owed to attorneys who referred cases to your firm
- Co-counsel fee splits on jointly handled matters
- Must be paid when the case settles — not on a billing cycle
- Require written agreement, client consent, and payment documentation
- Late or incorrect payment creates bar exposure
Receivables: what's owed to you
- Fees owed by firms you've referred cases to
- Often paid late because the receiving firm sets the timeline
- No automated trigger when the referred case settles
- Easy to lose track of when a caseload is large
- Recovered revenue with proper tracking — written off without it
Disbo handles both sides in one platform. See how the full referral fee feature integrates with the settlement disbursement workflow, and review the 50-state referral fee rules to understand the compliance requirements in your jurisdiction.
How Disbo handles attorney referral fees
Referral fee management in Disbo is built into the matter and disbursement workflow — not a standalone module that requires separate data entry.
Log the referral agreement on intake
When a referred case comes in, the referral agreement is recorded in the matter: referring attorney, agreed percentage, basis of calculation, and any jurisdiction-specific terms. Disbo stores the agreement and links it to the matter for use at settlement.
Calculate the fee automatically at settlement
When the matter settles, Disbo applies the agreed percentage to the net attorney fee and includes the referral fee in the disbursement sheet. Multi-party splits and co-counsel shares are calculated simultaneously. Attorneys review and approve before payment.
Generate compliance documentation
Before disbursement, Disbo generates the client disclosure letter in the format required by the applicable jurisdiction and confirms the written agreement is on file. The documentation is stored in the matter record, not in a separate compliance system.
Pay in the settlement disbursement
The referring attorney is paid in the same disbursement workflow as medical providers and client proceeds — directly from the IOLTA trust account, via ACH, wire, or check. The payment posts to the trust ledger and a payment record is generated for bar audit purposes.
Spreadsheets, practice management, and trust accounting vs. Disbo
How each approach handles attorney referral fees across the full workflow.
| Spreadsheet | Practice Mgmt | Trust Accounting | Disbo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Referral tracking | Manual | Basic CRM log | Not tracked | By matter with agreement |
| Fee calculation | Manual math | Not built in | Not built in | Automatic from % & net fee |
| Receivables tracking | Manual follow-up | Not automated | Not tracked | Automated reminders |
| Compliance docs | Manual drafting | Not generated | Not generated | Generated per jurisdiction |
| Payment execution | Separate check | Not supported | Requires manual setup | Included in disbursement |
| Audit trail | None | Activity log only | Ledger entries | Full compliance-grade record |
Common compliance mistakes with attorney referral fees
Referral fee errors are among the most common sources of bar complaints in contingency practices. Most stem from process gaps, not intent.
No written fee agreement
Most jurisdictions require a written fee-sharing agreement signed before or at the time the referral is made. Verbal agreements — even between longtime colleagues — don't satisfy the rule. Disbo prompts for the written agreement and stores it in the matter record.
No written client consent
Bar rules in many states require the client to consent in writing to the fee-sharing arrangement. Sending the client their net proceeds without disclosing that a portion of the attorney fee went to a referring attorney is a compliance failure. Disbo generates the disclosure letter as part of the disbursement workflow.
Calculating from gross instead of net
Referral fee agreements typically specify a percentage of the attorney fee — not a percentage of the gross settlement. Applying the percentage to the wrong base overpays the referring attorney and underpays the firm. Disbo calculates from the net attorney fee after costs, using the agreed percentage.
Late payment on settled cases
Referral fee payables are due when the case settles, not on a separate billing cycle. Firms that track payables in spreadsheets routinely pay late because there's no automated trigger. Disbo includes the referral fee payment in the disbursement workflow — paid the same day as client and provider payments.
Not tracking receivables
Firms that refer cases out often have no reliable system to track when those cases settle and the referral fee becomes collectible. Without automated reminders, fees go uncollected for months. Disbo tracks receivables and sends reminders when a referred case reports a settlement.
No payment record for bar audits
If a bar inquiry asks for documentation of a referral fee payment, a bank statement line item isn't enough. The bar expects a payment record tied to a specific matter, a named referring attorney, and a documented agreement. Disbo generates that record as a byproduct of every referral fee disbursement.
See the full state-by-state requirements at the 50-state referral fee rules page, explore pricing, or book a demo to walk through a referral fee disbursement on a live case.
Common questions about attorney referral fees.
Attorney referral fee software is a platform that helps law firms track, calculate, and pay referral fees — both fees owed to referring attorneys and fees receivable from referred cases. It keeps a structured record of referral agreements, calculates the correct split at settlement, generates required compliance documentation, and pays the referring attorney directly from the disbursement workflow.
Disbo links each referral agreement to the relevant matter. At settlement, the referral fee is calculated automatically from the agreed percentage and the net attorney fee. The payment is included in the disbursement workflow alongside medical provider payments and client proceeds — paid simultaneously from the IOLTA trust account, with a compliance-grade audit trail and client disclosure letter generated automatically.
Yes. Disbo tracks referral fee payables (fees your firm owes to referring attorneys on incoming referrals) and receivables (fees owed to your firm for cases you've referred out). Receivables include automated reminders when a case reaches settlement and the fee becomes collectible, so nothing falls through the cracks on the receivable side.
Disbo generates client disclosure letters in the format required by the applicable jurisdiction, referral fee agreements tied to specific matters, and a complete payment record for each referral fee disbursed. In jurisdictions requiring written client consent and joint responsibility disclosures, Disbo surfaces the applicable requirements and generates the documentation as part of the settlement workflow.
Yes. Disbo handles multi-party attorney fee splits — including co-counsel arrangements where two or more attorneys share a contingency fee in addition to a referring attorney's separate fee. Each attorney's share is calculated from the agreed percentages, and all fee recipients are paid simultaneously from the trust account in the disbursement workflow.
Bar rules governing attorney referral fees vary by state and typically require written fee-sharing agreements, written client consent, and in some jurisdictions, joint responsibility between the referring and receiving attorney. Disbo tracks the requirements by jurisdiction, generates the required disclosures, and maintains the documentation in the matter record — providing the audit trail a bar inquiry would require.
Spreadsheet-based referral fee tracking creates three categories of risk: arithmetic errors in calculating splits from the net attorney fee, missing or late payments because there's no automated trigger when a case settles, and inadequate documentation because spreadsheets don't generate the client disclosure letters and fee-sharing agreements that bar rules require. Any one of these failures can produce a bar complaint.
Practice management software tracks referral relationships for intake and marketing purposes, but it doesn't execute referral fee payments, generate compliance documentation, or integrate with trust accounting. Disbo tracks the referral agreement, calculates the fee at settlement, pays the referring attorney in the disbursement workflow, and posts the transaction to the trust ledger — all in a single connected workflow.
Related Features
Explore other capabilities that work seamlessly together.
Referral fees belong in the settlement workflow — not in a spreadsheet.
Disbo tracks, calculates, and pays them automatically.
Track every referral arrangement, pay on settlement, and generate the documentation your bar requires — without a separate process. Explore the referral fees feature or browse the resources hub for more on compliance.