How Viles and Beckman Leverages Referrals

January 22, 2026 by Donna A. Jones

Advocate Capital CEO, Paul Myers, and Viles and Beckman founder, Michael Beckman, discuss the importance of referrals to case acquisition for law firms. Michael shares his firm's approach to generating referrals, as well as some practical strategies for building a strong referral network.

To learn more about Michael and Viles and Beckman visit: vilesandbeckman.com

About Donna A. Jones

Donna Jones is the President and Director of Associate & Client Experience at Advocate Capital, Inc., which became a part of Pinnacle in 2019. Ms. Jones is a member of the Board of Directors of Advocate Capital, Inc. and serves as a member of the Credit Committee. Her responsibilities include education and training of Advocate Capital staff regarding civil litigation, coaching new clients on the fundamentals of Advocate’s online services, as well as its proprietary software application, AdvoTrac®, and all activities related to existing and prospective clients.

* In most jurisdictions, a law firm can recover finance charges related to funding case expenses from case awards, but the compliance requirements can be too expensive to implement. Only Advocate Capital, Inc. has the proprietary AdvoTrac^® expense tracking system and service team that allows firms to easily comply with allocation and reporting requirements. So, for example, if a firm recovers at least 90% of its advanced case expenses, like most of our clients, the annual net cost of funds is very small-typically less than 1%. Contact us to discuss how our program can work for your firm. All loans are subject to credit approval, and terms and conditions may vary.

Financial Services provided through Pinnacle Bank, a Tennessee bank Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender. Loans are subject to credit approval.

About Donna A. Jones

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