This is the first part of a two-part series exploring referral fees in the globalised contemporary world. The second session is entitled: "Referral fees and alternative structures." Referral fees can be defined as a reward paid by a lawyer to another lawyer as compensation for having made a recommendation resulting in employment by a client. The panel will examine if this compensation is ethically acceptable in different jurisdictions, according to the corresponding rules of professional conduct and jurisprudence, and the requisites that those rules impose where referrals are accepted. The panel will discuss the responsibilities of the referring lawyer vis-à-vis its client in respect to the conduct of the referred lawyer, and the relations of referrals with fee-sharing agreements. The panel will address the question whether the regulation of referral fees should be loosened or tightened, or does it currently strike the right balance?