For referring counsel
Trial and referral counsel for Oregon’s most serious injury cases
When another lawyer refers a case, it is an act of trust. We treat it that way — your client is prepared for trial, and you stay informed from intake to resolution.
- A partner reviews every referral personally — not an intake screener.
- Referral and co-counsel arrangements, as permitted by Oregon RPC 1.5.
- We advance every case cost, including experts and trial expenses.
Referral desk
Talk it through confidentially.
No forms and no commitment. Tell us the facts and we will tell you candidly whether the case is a fit.
Calls from attorneys are returned the same business day.
What your client’s case can look like in our hands
All case resultsConstruction accident
$19M
Construction site roof fall. Confidential resolution.
Bus accident · verdict
$18M
Hunter Brown v. Greyhound. Verdict for a young man killed when run over by a Greyhound bus.
Auto accident · verdict
$13.9M
Scott Busch v. McInnis Waste Systems. Pedestrian struck by a garbage truck; leg amputation.
Across our practice
$400M+
Recovered for injured clients in verdicts and settlements, and millions paid in referral and co-counsel fees.
Fit
Matters we accept on referral
We are selective on purpose. Every serious case deserves focused attention, careful preparation and the commitment to see it through, so we take cases we believe in and can staff properly.
Usually not a fit
Soft-tissue-only claims, workers’ compensation, insurance disputes without injury, criminal defense and family matters. If it is outside our practice we will say so quickly and, where we can, point you to someone better suited.
Catastrophic personal injury
Spinal cord and brain injury, amputation, burns — cases with lifetime care components.
Wrongful death
Including cases requiring a personal representative and estate coordination.
Medical malpractice and medical negligence
Hospital and emergency department negligence, surgical error, misdiagnosis, birth injury.
Defective products
Design and manufacturing defects, machinery, vehicle components, failure to warn.
Construction accidents and injuries
Falls, crane and equipment failures, multi-contractor liability, third-party claims alongside comp.
Major motor vehicle and trucking cases
Commercial carriers, FMCSA issues, transit and delivery fleets, catastrophic collisions.
Structure
Two ways to work together
You decide how involved you want to be. Either way, the arrangement is documented before we open the file and your client consents in writing.
Option one
Refer the case
We take the file from intake through resolution. You hand off the work and stay in the loop.
- Referral fee by written agreement, as permitted by Oregon RPC 1.5.
- We carry all costs and case expenses, including experts.
- Milestone updates: filing, discovery, mediation, trial, resolution.
Option two
Try it with us as co-counsel
You keep an active role and we bring the trial resources. Common where you know the client well or want courtroom experience on a larger case.
- Work and fee division agreed up front, in writing.
- Shared strategy, depositions and expert development.
- Second chair at trial, or first — whichever the case needs.
Process
Referring a case takes one phone call
We handle the paperwork, the client conversation and the consent. You will not spend an afternoon on this.
Call a partner
A confidential conflicts-aware conversation about the facts. Same business day.
We give you a straight answer
Whether we will take it, what we see as the strengths and problems, and which structure fits.
We paper the agreement
We prepare the referral or co-counsel agreement and obtain the client’s written consent to the fee division.
You stay informed
Updates at every milestone, and a call before any major decision that affects your client.
Fee division, handled by the rules
Oregon RPC 1.5 permits lawyers who are not in the same firm to divide a fee where the client gives written consent after full disclosure of the arrangement, and the total fee remains reasonable. We prepare that disclosure and consent, keep the agreement on file, and account for the division at resolution. We have engaged in referral and co-counsel relationships with firms across the state and have paid millions in referral and co-counsel fees.
Who will have the file
The two lawyers who try our cases
Referred cases are handled by a partner. You will know who is working your client’s file, and you can reach them directly.
Jane Paulson
PartnerMedical negligence, catastrophic injury
“At Paulson Coletti, ‘liberty and justice for all’ is more than just a phrase — it is our mandate.”
John Coletti
PartnerTrucking, products, wrongful death
“Most cases settle, but each of our cases is prepared as if it’s going to trial. The insurance companies know it and so do the defense lawyers defending them.”
Questions referring lawyers ask
Before you pick up the phone
If your question is not here, ask it on the call. Nothing about a referral conversation commits you to anything.
Will I keep my relationship with the client?
Yes. We are there for one matter. We do not solicit your client for other work, and we do not market to them after the case resolves.
What if the case is close to a deadline?
Oregon’s general injury limitation period is two years, with shorter notice requirements for claims against public bodies — tell us the dates first and we will move accordingly.
Who pays case costs?
We do. Experts, depositions, records, focus groups and trial expenses are advanced by our firm and recovered from the resolution, not billed to you.
Do you take cases outside Oregon?
We handle matters in Oregon and Washington, and we associate with local counsel where a case belongs elsewhere. Ask and we will tell you whether we are the right firm.
What if you decline the case?
You hear back quickly and the conversation stays confidential. Where we can, we suggest a firm better suited to the matter.
Have a case you are weighing? Let’s talk before you decide.
A confidential lawyer-to-lawyer conversation, returned the same business day. No forms, no obligation.