Legal Question in Personal Injury in Illinois
Bird Dogging for an Attorney
I have a friend (no, really, it's not me) who works in the automotive industry and he recently discovered a HUGE violation of auto financing law that is going on with a major auto manufacturer. This is potentially a very large class action suit. He wants to know if he can legally be paid some type of referral or ''bird-dogging'' fee by a mass-tort attorney for bringing this information to them to begin such a case. I tried to find an answer elsewhere on the net, but could not, so I really hope you can provide an answer. My friend is not an attorney, so I know he can not get any kind of ''split'' of legal fees.
Thanks,
Mike
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Bird Dogging for an Attorney
With court approval, the named plaintiff may be entitled to receive an incentive award, to compensate him for his efforts. You are correct that non-attorneys may not share fees. Please feel free to contact my office to discuss this case.
Jeff Friedman