Arizona, unlike some other states, does not allow a lawyer to be paid a fee merely for recommending another lawyer or referring a case. Instead, Arizona allows "referral fees" only in the sense that lawyers who are not in the same firm may divide a fee as provided in ER.1.5(e). That rule allows lawyers to divide a single billing to a client if three conditions are met: (1) each lawyer receiving any portion of the fee assumes joint responsibility for the representation: (2) the client agrees, in a signed writing, to the participation of all the lawyers involved: and (3) the total fee is reasonable. "Joint responsibility" requires, at the least, that the referring attorney accept vicarious liability for any malpractice that occurs in the representation. Although the client must consent to the respective roles of the lawyers in the ongoing representation, ER 1.5(e) does not require that the client consent to the particular division of the total fee among the lawyers.
The referral fee that does not satisfy ER 1.5(e) violates ER 7.2(b), which generally prohibits lawyers from paying others for channeling professional work. ER 7.2(b) is not violated, however, by a lawyer giving or receiving a "de minimis" gift that is not a "quid pro quo" for another lawyers referring a particular client.