An email came in the other day from a reader who sought representation in a quasi-related field of law, one in which I had absolutely no one to refer.  I felt badly that I had nothing to offer, but I take referrals very seriously.  They are  my personal endorsement of the service of another lawyer.

Another email came in the same day, talking about an email from a criminal defense listserve asking if anybody wanted a particular case.  Apparently, the lawyer was asked by someone to refer him to a lawyer in another locale to handle his case.  The lawyer had nothing, so offered it up to the group to see if there were any takers. 

When I had no one to offer, I responded that I would ask another lawyer, one I knew well, who might be able to provide a referral.  My friend provided me with a name of a lawyer who was well-suited to the case, and I forwarded the referral to the client with an explanation of my relationship to the lawyer who provided the name, together with my assessment of his knowledge and integrity. 

There was no question but that the client was fully informed about how I came to the name of the lawyer, and that I could not personally vouch for the lawyer’s competence and appropriateness to handle the case.  It was clear that I was offering a second-hand referral, and my basis for sending it on.

The listserv situation, which could just as easily have happened on twitter or, any day now, Google+ or any of the other beloved social networking sites, is dangerous and, from my seat, improper and misleading.  When a client asks for a referral, they aren’t asking us to give them a name from the telephone book, a lawyer about whom we know nothing.  They are asking us for our counsel, to give them the name of a good lawyer, the right lawyer. 

Perhaps the listserv lawyer would tell his client that he knew no one and just put the query out there for anybody to respond.  Perhaps he would tell the client that he knows nothing about the referred lawyer, and it’s nothing more than a name.  But I wouldn’t expect it to happen that way.  It would be embarrassing and make the lawyer look foolish to provide a name of such utter worthlessness.  Rather, he would likely get back to the client with the name of a lawyer as if he’s on top the situation and the client can rest easy.  This is tantamount to a lie.

Referring cases is a wonderful way to make friends and get business.  After all, the expectation is that if you refer a case to Joe in the next state, Joe will send one back in appreciation.  And in some practice areas and jurisdictions, there may be a referral fee involved as well, a tangible sign of appreciation in the form of a third of a fee that the lawyer would otherwise have never seen.  Making friends is good for business.

Before we have the opportunity to become bestest friends by following someone on twitter of friending them on facebook, we came to know them in real life.  We might get a solid idea of whether they were any good or not, or whether they were the sort of person we would cross the street to avoid.  Whatever our impression, it was based on something.

We delude ourselves today, believing that a few twits gives us sufficient insight to have a clue who other people are.  And indeed, we’re strongly encouraged to do so, since the primary purpose of these social networking opportunities is to create a circle of people who, despite not having the slightest clue whether others are lawyers or 12-year-olds pretending to be lawyers, or dogs, can serve as a source of business.  The other reason is that people have no life, so they create one on the internet.

Some people spend hours nightly “engaging” with their internet buddies, which likely makes their spouses happy and available for other opportunities.  They come to believe that these “relationships” are real, that they know the people they talk to regularly, who join their tribe or become part of their sphere.  And when they need a lawyer in Des Moines, who else would they consider?

Do you tell your client that this great pal of yours, the lawyer from Des Moines, is nothing more than your digital buddy, a person you’ve never actually seen or spoken with?  Do you actually know whether this is a person rather than a dog?  Or do you let the fact that he has validated your virtual existence by witty twits in response to and appreciation of yours displace sound judgment.  Do you pretend to know someone because they smiled at you on the internet?

Many have come to accept that these connections are the best they have, and lost touch with the reality that they do not know who these people are.  Maybe they write cool blog posts as well, giving some insight into their views.  Maybe they express outrage at the same things that piss you off, suggesting some camaraderie that you project as skill in lawyering.  Maybe they are all you have.

To the client who has sought your counsel, and expected that the information you would provide in return would be as honest and accurate as possible, that the name of a lawyer you’ve provided is someone you actually know to be a real lawyer, a competent lawyer, an honest lawyer, do you tell them that you’ve referred them to a person you know only via the internet?

This won’t change with Google+, or whether the next really cool internet thing may be.  Instead, our heads are pushed ever further away from reality toward the pretense we embrace online in the hope that others who embrace it as well will send some business in our direction.  We’ve grown indiscriminate about who we connect with online, collecting numbers of friends and followers with no concern for who they are. The greater the number, the more likely we can make a buck off someone.

If you’ve inclined to confuse people with whom you twit for good lawyers, whether because they’ve followed you back or they twit about what great and dedicated lawyers they are, at least tell the client asking for the referral the truth, that you don’t have the slightest idea of their competence or integrity, and that your only connection to them is through this worthless prism of the internet. 

Even though we may be functioning in this virtual fantasy world, the guy who needs a good lawyer in the next state over will be dealing in the very real world of the law. Don’t burn him with your virtual relationships.