Co-Counsel & Referrals
If you've been approached by a former college football player — or his family — and you don't have the infrastructure to take on the NCAA, we should talk. Langfitt PLLC is one of the only firms in the country to obtain a jury verdict against the NCAA for latent CTE in a former college football player.
What We Bring to a Co-Counsel Relationship
Most plaintiff firms recognize a viable football brain injury case when they see one. Fewer have the trial record, appellate authority, and deposition archive to take the NCAA to a jury. We do.
Trial-tested verdict
$18M jury verdict in Geathers v. NCAA, Orangeburg County, SC, October 2025 — the first of its kind against the NCAA for latent brain disease in a former college football player.
Controlling appellate authority
We obtained Schmitz v. NCAA in the Ohio Supreme Court in 2018, establishing that a player's mere knowledge of in-career head injuries does not start the statute of limitations clock for latent CTE. That ruling protects clients in multiple jurisdictions.
Proprietary deposition archive
Years of state-court litigation have produced video testimony from NCAA executives acknowledging a duty to protect players. That testimony travels with us into co-counsel matters.
National reach
We litigate in courts nationwide, with active dockets in South Carolina, Ohio, Maryland, New York, Illinois, Indiana, California, Kentucky, and Minnesota.
How We Structure Referral and Co-Counsel Arrangements
We work with referring and co-counsel firms under arrangements that are straightforward, ethically compliant, and fair to both sides.
Pure Referral
You identify the client, confirm they have a viable case, and refer them to us. We handle everything from intake through trial or resolution. You receive a referral fee consistent with your jurisdiction's professional conduct rules. Your client is kept informed throughout.
Active Co-Counsel
You remain on the case in a defined role — client relationship, local court presence, or specific litigation tasks — while we provide the NCAA-specific litigation infrastructure, expert network, and trial team. Fee sharing is negotiated at the outset and documented in writing.
Consultative Co-Counsel
Some firms want to develop their own NCAA practice over time. We are open to consultative arrangements where we advise on case selection, strategy, and expert witnesses while your team leads the matter. We evaluate these on a case-by-case basis.
In every arrangement, we are selective. We accept roughly one in ten inquiries across all case types, and we apply the same discipline to co-counsel matters. That selectivity protects your client and your firm's reputation.
Who We're Looking For in a Co-Counsel Partner
We work best with plaintiff firms that already understand mass tort and catastrophic injury litigation — firms that have a client in front of them and need a partner who has already done the work of building a case against the NCAA from the ground up.
The strongest referral and co-counsel fits tend to involve:
- Former college football players with documented neurological symptoms — memory loss, mood and behavioral changes, early cognitive decline, or a diagnosis of CTE, dementia, ALS, Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's
- Wrongful death claims brought by surviving spouses or adult children of former NCAA players
- Clients who were told their case is time-barred — the discovery rule established in Schmitz v. NCAA may reopen the limitations analysis
- NFL players whose NFL Concussion Settlement claims were denied or undervalued, and who may have separate viable claims
If you are unsure whether a client's history qualifies, contact us directly. We will give you a candid assessment.
Why Referring Firms Choose to Work With Us
We are a small firm by design. Cloud-based, virtually paperless, and built for national litigation without the overhead of a large institutional practice. Decisions are made by the attorneys handling the case — not by a committee.
David Langfitt has litigated NCAA brain injury cases across multiple state jurisdictions for over a decade. Margaret Bellamy, a Harvard Law graduate, has been part of this practice since its early development. Jessica Brown handles case management and client communication with the same directness we bring to court.
Referring firms tell us two things consistently: their clients feel heard, and they are never left wondering what is happening with the case.
Do you accept referrals from firms outside the states where you're currently active?
Yes. We litigate nationally and are not limited to states where we currently have active dockets. If your client is a former college football player with a viable brain injury claim, geography is not a barrier. We will identify appropriate local co-counsel where required by court rules.
My client played college football decades ago. Is it too late to file?
Not necessarily. The Ohio Supreme Court's decision in Schmitz v. NCAA — which our firm obtained — held that a player's knowledge of in-career head impacts does not start the statute of limitations clock for latent CTE. Many former players whose injuries were not diagnosed or diagnosable until years after their playing careers may still have viable claims. We evaluate the limitations question as part of every initial case review.
How do you handle referral fees?
Referral fee arrangements are documented in writing and structured to comply with the professional conduct rules of your jurisdiction and ours. We are straightforward about economics at the outset. If you contact us about a specific matter, we will discuss the fee structure in that first conversation.
What does your case-selection process look like for referred matters?
We evaluate referred cases the same way we evaluate direct inquiries — on the merits of the medical history, the strength of the limitations analysis, and our honest assessment of litigation value. We accept roughly one in ten inquiries. When we decline a referred case, we explain why and do so promptly, so your client can pursue other options without delay.
Can I refer an NFL Concussion Settlement case, not an NCAA case?
Yes. David Langfitt serves on the Court-appointed Plaintiffs' Executive Committee for the NFL Concussion Settlement. We represent players whose claims were denied or undervalued and handle appeals. Contact us to discuss the specifics.
Contact Us to Discuss a Referral or Co-Counsel Arrangement
We respond to attorney inquiries directly — not through an intake coordinator. If you have a client you want to discuss, reach out to David Langfitt or Margaret Bellamy.
