Data from the Best Era Community shows a typical first reply in 12 minutes. Best Era never takes or charges a fee on referrals between member lawyers.

A referral is a handshake you can’t make alone. Our members make it for each other, in minutes, in 49 states, and Best Era never takes a fee for any of it.”

— Ryan McKeen, Co-Founder, Best Era

WEST HARTFORD, CT, UNITED STATES, October 16, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Best Era, a law firm consulting firm founded in 2024 in West Hartford, Connecticut, by Ryan McKeen, Allison McKeen, Brittany Green and Marisa Rua, today released data showing that lawyers in its Best Era Community posted 448 referral requests across 49 states between June 2024 and October 15, 2026. The typical answered request received its first reply in 12 minutes.

The data comes from the community’s #referrals channel. Lawyers post a case they need to refer out, or help they need in another state. Other members answer with names they trust. Best Era never takes or charges a fee for any of it.

What the data shows

– 448 referral requests from 95 members between June 2024 and October 15, 2026.
– Requests reached 49 states, plus Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. North Dakota is the only state without a request yet.
– The median time to a first reply was 12 minutes among answered requests. 46% of all requests got a reply within 15 minutes, 58% within an hour and 82% within a day.
– Volume grew from about 6 requests a month in 2024 to about 15 in 2025 and 24 in 2026.
– The most requested practice areas were personal injury (68), trusts, estates and probate (50), civil and business litigation (45), employment (41), real estate and landlord-tenant (38) and family law (30).
– More than three out of four requests that named a state were for a state outside Connecticut.

Why a lawyer referral network matters for small firms

A client calls about a car wreck in Tennessee. The lawyer practices in Connecticut. A directory gives that lawyer a list. A room of lawyers gives them a name, a reason and often a phone number.

“Lawyers have always sent cases to people they trust,” said Ryan McKeen, co-founder of Best Era. “The hard part is finding that person in a state where you don’t know anyone. Our members solve that for each other, usually in minutes.”

Best Era’s view is that for a small firm, the referral you send out matters as much as the one you receive. A client who gets a good lawyer in another state remembers who made the call.

Best Era takes no fee

Best Era does not take or charge a fee on any referral made in the community. Any fee arrangement between the referring and receiving lawyers is theirs to set, under the Rules of Professional Conduct in their state, such as Rule 1.5(e) on dividing fees.

“We don’t take a cut, and we never will,” McKeen said. “We are committed to helping our community win. When our members win, so do we.”

How the data was counted

Each top-level post in #referrals that asked for a lawyer, expert or vendor, or offered a case to refer out, counted once. Replies, thank-yous and side conversations were not counted. Practice area and state were read from each post. A request counted as answered when another member replied in its thread, or posted the next message in the channel within a day. Many conversations move to direct messages and phone calls, so the reply figures are floors. No member names or client details were published.

The full data, with charts by month, practice area and state, is on the lawyer referral network page at bestera.com.

What the Best Era Community is

The Best Era Community is a private Slack community for lawyers, law firm owners and the people who run law firms. Membership costs $1.39 a day and includes the #referrals channel, a content library, group coaching, AMAs and member event pricing.

About Best Era

Best Era is a law firm consulting firm based in West Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 2024 by Ryan McKeen, Allison McKeen, Brittany Green, and Marisa Rua, it provides bespoke business strategy for law firms, attorneys, and legal companies, covering marketing, operations, finance, hiring, intake, and technology. Services include private consulting, The Way weekly leadership coaching, two-day intensives, paralegal training, online courses, and the Best Era Community. The firm also hosts the AI ERA 2.0 and AI PARA ERA conferences. Its tagline is “Taking Your Business To Its Best Era.” Learn more at bestera.com.

Ryan McKeen
Best Era
ryan@bestera.com
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