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Attorney Referrals: Co-Counsel Partnership Built on Trial Excellence and Transparency

Championing Justice, Embracing Integrity, Empowering Lives

You Have a Case That Demands a Trial Partner

You've done the work. You landed the case. Now you're looking at a catastrophic injury, a wrongful death, or a civil rights violation that needs something your firm doesn't have in-house: a proven trial lawyer who will prepare every case for a jury and follow through if that's what justice requires.

The wrong co-counsel costs your client their outcome and costs you your reputation.

The right one makes you look like exactly the attorney your client needed.

What Referring Attorneys Worry About — and What We Do About It

Sarah knows this list. Every attorney who has ever handed a case to another firm does.
Your client gets poached. The receiving firm builds the relationship, and you never hear from that client again.You go dark. You made the referral, your client asks for an update, and you have nothing to tell them because the other firm stopped communicating three months ago.The case settles cheap. The co-counsel avoids the cost and complexity of trial preparation and takes whatever the insurance company offers — cutting your referral fee and shortchanging your client.The firm can't actually try it. They talk about trial readiness. They've settled 95% of their cases. They fold when the defense calls the bluff.Your name is on a bad outcome. Your client remembers who sent them there.
These are not hypothetical fears. They are the documented failure modes of the referral relationship when the receiving firm treats your referral as a transaction instead of a trust.

How We Are Different From That

We do not treat referring attorneys as lead sources. We treat them as partners — because the only referral relationships worth having are the ones built on mutual respect, transparent communication, and shared commitment to the client's outcome.

Haytham Faraj has tried over
80 jury and bench trials across federal, state, and military courts. That number is not a credential on a bio page. It is the reason opposing counsel takes our pre-trial demands seriously, the reason insurance companies know settlement negotiations with us are not theater, and the reason your client's case will be prepared for trial whether it goes to verdict or resolves before one.

We have paid out
millions in referral fees to attorneys who trusted us with their clients. Those relationships continue because the attorneys who referred once refer again. That is the only metric that matters.

Our Trial Record — The Proof Behind the Partnership

Referring attorneys check verdict databases. We know this. Here is what you will find.
$26.1 million — Pedestrian accident verdict, Los Angeles, 2016. A woman struck on her moped by an SUV, suffering a broken leg and TBI.$22.6 million — Government liability verdict against the City of Los Angeles, 2023. A man struck by a falling metal object resulting in TBI and trauma-induced dementia.$21.2 million — Car accident verdict, Lancaster, CA, 2023. A man severely injured in a head-on collision with lifelong debilitating impacts on him and his young sons.$15 million — Wrongful death verdict, Santa Monica, CA, 2023. A teenager who suffered cardiac arrest in PE class without required emergency response.$13 million — Wrongful death verdict, Los Angeles, 2019. A child killed by a falling metal door.$5.3 million — Medical negligence verdict, 2022. Permanent disability resulting from spinal fusion surgery.$5 million — Wrongful death settlement, Phoenix, AZ, 2022. A man killed by police during arrest.
Criminal defense: acquittals in federal espionage charges, war crimes allegations including the Haditha investigation and the Pendleton 8 case. The Pendleton 8 acquittal was the first use of TBI as a murder defense in a military court.
These are verdicts. Not just settlements. Proof that when a case goes to trial, we know how to win it.

What Sets This Co-Counsel Relationship Apart

Haytham Faraj is a retired Marine Corps Major who spent 22 years in uniform — 19 of them in combat arms infantry before transitioning to judge advocate service as Senior Defense Counsel at Camp Pendleton. He earned the Wheeler Award for excellence at the Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course — the highest honor for an infantry officer of his grade.

He graduated from and now teaches at Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College — a national community of elite trial advocates built on the conviction that courtroom skill is developed through rigorous, human-centered preparation, not volume and settlement throughput.

He is licensed in California, Illinois, Michigan, and Washington D.C. He handles cases in Los Angeles and Chicago. Through the Trial Lawyers College national network, he associates with colleagues nationwide for cases requiring multi-jurisdictional support.

When you refer a case to this firm, the attorney who answers your call is the attorney who tries your case. There is no handoff to a junior associate. No bait-and-switch. Haytham Faraj handles the cases he takes.

How the Referral Process Works

We have designed this process to be transparent at every step — because you deserve to know exactly what happens to your client's case after the handoff.
Step 1 — Case Review Within 24 Hours Submit the case details using the form below or call either office directly. We assess merit, jurisdiction, and fit within one business day.
Step 2 — Co-Counsel Agreement With Transparent Fee Structure We present a clear co-counsel agreement that specifies referral fee terms, case handling responsibilities, and communication expectations. No ambiguity. No surprises.
Step 3 — Client Intake With Your Involvement You may be present at the initial client meeting if you choose. We introduce ourselves as co-counsel and reinforce that you remain their trusted attorney.
Step 4 — Regular Case Updates You receive updates at meaningful intervals — when significant developments occur, when settlement offers arrive, when trial dates are set. You will not have to chase us for information.
Step 5 — Trial Preparation or Settlement Negotiation With Your Input We consult you on major strategic decisions. Your knowledge of the client and the case history is an asset we use, not a formality we acknowledge and ignore.

Your Client Relationship Is Protected

This is the question that matters most, and we answer it directly.

We do not contact your client without your knowledge. You remain counsel of record if you choose. All significant communications copy you. If your client has future legal needs outside this case — in any area we handle or do not handle — we refer them back to you.

Your client is not our acquisition target. They are the person you trusted us to serve. That distinction drives every decision we make in the co-counsel relationship.

Referral Fee Structure

We pay referral fees consistent with the applicable state bar rules governing co-counsel arrangements — typically one-third of the attorney fee recovered, adjusted based on the referring attorney's level of involvement in the case.

The structure is disclosed in writing before any co-counsel agreement is signed. There are no deductions you did not agree to. No fees that appear at the end of a case that were not discussed at the beginning.

We have paid out millions in referral fees to attorneys who trusted us with their clients. The attorneys who receive those fees refer again. That is the record we are proud of.

How We Keep You Informed

Transparency is not a promise we make on a referral page. It is a practice embedded in how we operate — rooted in 22 years of military service where mission updates were not optional and communication failures had real consequences.
● Immediate notification of all significant developments: settlement offers, trial dates, discovery disputes, expert witness issues● Regular case status updates on a schedule agreed to at intake● Direct access to Haytham Faraj — not a case manager, not a paralegal● Advance consultation before any major strategic decision is made
You will never have to explain to your client that you don't know what is happening with their case.

Cases We Accept on Referral

We focus on high-exposure cases where trial readiness matters and where the stakes justify the preparation required to win at verdict.
Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Auto accidents, pedestrian accidents, trucking accidents, medical negligence, slip and falls, product defects, birth injuries, dangerous premises. We accept catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases in California, Illinois, Michigan, and Washington D.C.
Civil Rights and Police Misconduct Excessive force, wrongful shootings, false arrest, unlawful search and seizure, First Amendment violations, government abuse. We have won against the City of Los Angeles and against law enforcement agencies in Illinois.
Criminal Defense Federal charges, state offenses in Cook County and DuPage County Illinois, complex white-collar matters, and military courts-martial. Our criminal defense record includes acquittals in federal espionage cases and war crimes allegations.
Consultations available in English and Arabic.

Frequently Asked Questions From Referring Attorneys

  • We never contact your client without your knowledge. You remain counsel of record if desired. Future referrals from your client come back to you. This is in writing in the co-counsel agreement.

  • At every significant development and on a regular schedule agreed to at intake. You have direct access to Haytham Faraj.

  • Yes. Your fee is earned at the time of referral and is paid from the recovery regardless of whether the case resolves by settlement or verdict.

  • Haytham Faraj is licensed in California, Illinois, Michigan, and Washington D.C. Through the Trial Lawyers College national network, we associate with colleagues in other jurisdictions for serious injury and criminal cases throughout the United States.

  • Yes. We consult referring attorneys on major strategic decisions. Your knowledge of the client is an asset, not a formality.

  • We prepare every case for trial. Settlement occurs when it represents full and fair value for the client. We do not settle to avoid preparation costs.

  • We discuss the offer with you and with the client. The client makes the final decision. We give our honest assessment of trial value and settlement value — and we do not pressure toward either outcome based on what is easiest for the firm.

Discuss a Referral

If you have a case that needs a trial-ready co-counsel — a catastrophic injury, wrongful death, civil rights violation, or criminal defense matter that exceeds your firm's current capacity or jurisdiction — we want to hear about it.

We review referral inquiries within 24 hours and provide an initial case assessment within 48 hours.

We have paid out millions in referral fees!

Faraj Law has a strong reputation for winning verdicts and achieving strong settlements in thousands of personal injury cases. With our client focus, aggressive preparation, and proven experience in complex cases, Faraj Law is ready to partner and provide generous referral fees.

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Need a Consultation? We Are Here to Help You!

Feel free to contact us to schedule a consultation.

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