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COMMON QUESTIONS What is BARUSTORS? BARUSTORS is a lawyer referral service operated by The Cosmides Group (TCG). We scout San Francisco's legal market on behalf of company presidents, CEOs, CFOs, general counsel, H.R. managers and other senior decision makers who hire outside legal counsel for their companies' litigation, transactional and regulatory needs. Under Business & Professions Code Section 6155, lawyer referral activity in California is permissable only when it is certified by the State Bar of California. Uncertified referral activity is subject to injunction and civil penalities. To our knowledge, BARUSTORS is the first and only State Bar-certified LRS in California exclusively serving business and corporate clients. What is The Cosmides Group? The Cosmides Group is a consulting firm founded by John Cosmides in 1994. TCG offers business development services to Bay Area corporate law firms. What size organizations do you serve? We serve organizations of all sizes, from start-ups and closely-held businesses, to public companies, including those based out-of-state and abroad which have Bay Area operations. How many BARUSTORS attorneys are clients of The Cosmides Group? Less than 25% of the attorneys we refer are current or former TCG clients. Through BARUSTORS we are now meeting attorneys independently of our consulting arm, in order to offer business clients a full range of talent. How does BARUSTORS differ from legal recruiters and temporary lawyer agencies? As a certified lawyer referral service, we work directly with clients. In contrast, legal recruiters and temporary placement agencies supply attorneys to law firms and in-house legal departments, not to the actual clients. Under Business & Professions Code Section 6155, lawyer referral activity is only permissable when it is certified by the State Bar of California. To our knowledge none of these organizations possess this certification. What caliber of attorneys does BARUSTORS refer? For an attorney to receive our referral, he or she must:
Why is BARUSTORS so tough on attorneys? We value our role as a referral colleague to senior management, and we protect our reputation by referring the best attorneys we can find. How much will a referral cost my company? There is no cost to your company. Our service is complimentary. How is BARUSTORS compensated? We receive referral fees from the attorneys we recommend. However, these fees are uniform, leaving us no financial incentive to refer one attorney over another. Why are attorneys willing to pay these fees? By and large, attorneys build their practices through word-of-mouth. Our service offers them a familiar and practical means of client development. Won’t the attorney you refer merely increase my bill to cover BARUSTORS’ fees? The State Bar of California forbids this practice. We will sever our ties to such an attorney, and we will encourage our client to report them to the Bar for disciplinary action. Why shouldn’t I just ask my friends or colleagues for a referral? In all likelihood, we know more attorneys, at more law firms, than your friends or colleagues know, because we are in the business of knowing attorneys. What's more, our referrals:
Why shouldn’t I just ask my lawyer for a referral? Lawyers can be an excellent referral source. However, they have a financial incentive to refer their own partners and associates. Moreover, lawyers do not necessarily know many colleagues outside of their own practice areas. BARUSTORS is in the business of knowing attorneys from many law firms, in many practice areas, and only referring those that meet our stringent minimum standards. How is BARUSTORS superior to online and print legal directories? Most business attorneys continue to be hired by word-of-mouth, despite the accessibility of online and print legal directories. In our opinion, the reason is trust. Senior managers prefer to work with attorneys who are known by their colleagues and friends. Legal directories can provide valuable information on a referred attorney. However, when used for your initial search, they often produce a very long list of candidates who must be screened and then interviewed. As your referral colleague, BARUSTORS does this work for you, at no charge. How is BARUSTORS superior to online bidding services? Online bidding sites tend to serve consumers and small business clients with routine legal matters, such as trademark searches, simple contracts or divorces, minor disputes and estate planning issues. Many attorneys perform this work, which allows consumers and small businesses to receive competitive bids based primarily on price. BARUSTORS, on the other hand, serves organizations that usually have more sophisticated legal needs in very specific areas of law. They are looking for experienced attorneys above all else. |
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