Earn 25% recurring commission. For life.

LegalNerds pays differently. Where most legal-services programs pay a flat $44 once, we pay up to $2,695 per referred customer over 18 months — and we keep paying for as long as they stay subscribed.

🔒 LegalNerds is in private testing — these plans are shown for reference. Checkout opens at launch.

Decisions in 48 hours. Free to join. Manual review.

Three tiers. Real upside.

Every partner starts at Standard. Promotion to Performance is automatic once you sustain volume. VIP is reserved for named partnerships negotiated directly.

Tier	Subscription rate	Cookie	How you get there
Standard	25% recurring	90-day	Default at signup
Performance	30% recurring	120-day	10+ paid conversions/mo, sustained 3 months
VIP	35% recurring	180-day	Negotiated partnerships

LLC Formation pays 15% flat across all tiers (one-time event, not subscription).

Honest math.

What you actually earn per referred customer over 12 months. No inflated CTRs, no fictional retention curves — just rate × monthly price × 12.

Product	Standard yr-1	Performance yr-1	VIP yr-1
Business Dashboard ($79/mo)	$237	$284	$332
Active Matter ($299/mo)	$897	$1,076	$1,256
High Stakes Matter ($599/mo)	$1,797	$2,156	$2,516

Year 2+ keeps paying. A High Stakes Matter customer who stays 18 months earns a Standard partner $2,695. A Performance partner: $3,234. A VIP partner: $3,775.

How LegalNerds pays differently.

Recurring, not flat.

LegalZoom pays you $44 once. We pay you for every month the customer stays subscribed. A single Active Matter referral is worth more than 30 LegalZoom flat-fee conversions.

90-to-180-day cookie.

Most programs use a 30-day cookie. Ours starts at 90 days for everyone, and grows with your tier. Long sales cycles are normal in legal — we don’t penalize you for it.

Net-30 payouts.

60-day earnings hold mirrors our refund window — we don’t pay out then claw back. After day 60 the commission is yours. Stripe Connect handles the transfer; Stripe handles the 1099.

Snapshotted rates.

If we change rates, your existing referrals keep their original rate forever. The deal you sign up under is the deal you keep on every customer you refer under it.

Questions.

When do I get paid?

Monthly, via Stripe Connect, on the 1st of each month. Each commission has a 60-day earnings hold (matches our refund window) before it becomes payable. After day 60 the commission is yours; future refunds on that customer don’t claw back. Minimum payout is $50 — under-threshold balances roll forward.

How is "recurring" different from a flat referral fee?

A flat fee pays once and ends. Recurring pays you for every month the customer stays subscribed. A customer on Active Matter at $299/mo who stays 18 months earns you $1,346 at Standard tier — vs. $44 once at most other legal-services affiliate programs.

What happens if my referral cancels or refunds?

Refunds within 60 days of conversion claw back the commission. Cancellations after 60 days don’t affect commissions you’ve already earned — future renewals just stop generating new commission rows.

How does the cookie window work?

When someone clicks your referral link, a cookie sets in their browser. If they sign up and convert anytime within your tier’s window (90 / 120 / 180 days), the conversion attributes to you. Last-click attribution — if they click another partner’s link before converting, that partner gets credit.

Can I lose my tier?

Once you reach Performance, you keep it. We don’t auto-demote. VIP terms are negotiated individually; we honor the agreement we sign.

What if you change the commission rates later?

Rate changes don’t retroactively affect existing referrals. Every commission row carries the rate that was in effect at conversion time, frozen for the lifetime of that subscription. New referrals get the new rate; old ones keep theirs.

Is there a commission cap per customer?

No cap. We pay on every renewal for as long as the customer stays subscribed. Our customer-lifetime-value math supports this.

How do I get accepted?

We review every application manually. We’re looking for partners whose audience overlaps with our customer base — middle-market legal consumers, small business owners, or attorneys’ existing clients. Audience size matters less than fit. Decisions in 48 hours.

What if I’m an attorney or have an attorney audience?

You’re a strong fit. Our differentiator is keeping attorneys honest — clients who arrive prepared via LegalNerds make every billable hour worth more. Attorneys who refer their own clients aren’t cannibalizing themselves; they’re shifting the work.

Are there marketing assets to use?

Yes. On approval you get a referral code, a cost calculator with your code embedded, three comparison pages (LegalNerds vs LegalZoom / Rocket Lawyer / traditional attorney), and pre-approved copy snippets. More assets ship over the next few weeks.

Can I lose my account for fraud?

Yes. Self-referrals, fake signups, brand impersonation, or trademark bidding gets you terminated. Pending commissions in such cases are forfeited. We’re generous with legitimate partners; strict with bad actors.

Who do I contact?

Apply via the form below. Once approved, your dashboard has a contact form that routes directly to Joshua.