7 Ways to Get Referrals for Your Law Firm
Full Answer
When it comes to finding law firm referrals, look for people and places—beyond other lawyers—where you might be able to help. Think about building relationships with other non-attorney professionals in your field who might be looking for a lawyer to refer to.
Law firms rely on referrals for new business, but getting referrals isn’t always easy. Lawyer referral marketing is becoming increasingly difficult, especially with the obstacles and rapid legal industry changes brought about by the pandemic.
Lawyer referral marketing takes effort, but referrals can be one of the most effective, affordable, and sustainable ways to drive more clients to your firm. Start by delivering a positive client experience that makes your customers want to refer you, then make it easy for them to do so.
Put yourself in your clients’ shoes and think about how you can make the referral process as straightforward and painless as possible. gain, you want to provide a client-focused experience—even when it comes to them giving you a referral.
Life should be a give and take. If you specialize in estate planning, family law or intellectual property rights disputes, you’re not qualified to handle personal injury cases.
The best source of referrals for any service business is word-of-mouth marketing. Attorneys can ask their current and former clients to refer their friends. You shouldn’t do this while you’re handling an active case. However, you can send them thank you cards for their business or seasonal greets with a request that they refer a friend.
Create a social media profile for your business. Share content related to your area of expertise. Seek reviews from your clients, and share any praise anyone posts about your law firm. Ask your staff to list the law firm as their employer. Don’t forget to set up a law firm profile on LinkedIn.
Many people do online searches when they don’t have an attorney recommended to them by friends or family. You are competing against a million other attorneys when you try to outrank them in general internet searches. However, you can rank well in location based searches. These searches will draw on data in business directories.
Showing up near the top of general internet and business directory search results is essential. However, it is your online rating that will distinguish you from the competition. If you don’t have any online business reviews, you’ll be skipped in favor of the competitor with four stars.
We’re assuming you have a business website that’s already optimized to attract clients in your geographic area to the page. The next step is creating great content. If you can create content that answers their most important questions, you’ll demonstrate your competence.
If you’re willing to take a few cases for free such as cases referred to you by a charity, you could generate follow up referrals. You can ask the charity to mention the charitable work in their advertising or promotions. You can discuss your charitable work, as well. And these pro bono clients are likely to generate word of mouth referrals.
The lawyer will be helping you solve your problems, so the first qualification is that you must feel comfortable enough to tell him or her, honestly and completely, all the facts necessary to resolve your problem.
Yes, the lawyer’s area of expertise and prior experience are important. Many states have specialization programs that certify lawyers as specialists in certain types of law.
There are many ways to find a reliable lawyer. One of the best is a recommendation from a trusted friend, relative, or business associate. Be aware, however, that each legal case is different and that a lawyer who is right for someone else may not suit you or your legal problem.
In some ways, yes, ads are useful. However, always be careful about believing everything you read and hear — and nowhere is this truer than with advertisements. Newspaper, telephone directory, radio, television, and Internet ads, along with direct mail, can make you familiar with the names of lawyers who may be appropriate for your legal needs.
Most communities have referral services to help people find lawyers. You might be able to find them under “Lawyer Referral Service” or something similar in your yellow pages. These services usually recommend a lawyer in the area to evaluate a situation.
Legal services, like many other things, are often less expensive when bought in bulk. Some employers, labor and credit unions, and other groups have formed “legal insurance” plans. These plans vary. Many cover most, if not all, of the cost of legal consultations, document preparation, and court representation in routine legal matters.
Several legal assistance programs offer inexpensive or free legal services to those in need. Look in the yellow pages under topics such as “legal clinics,” “legal aid,” or “legal advice,” or search online. Most legal aid programs have special guidelines for eligibility, often based on where you live, the size of your family, and your income.
In Biglaw, we always had emails going around asking for a DUI lawyer for a client’s kid or a “reasonably priced” family law attorney for an employee of the firm getting a divorce. I tried to help out when I could and pass along names of friends or former colleagues.
Learn what your law firm can do to be successful and find opportunity in the face of adversity, with this free on demand webcast.
It’s true that the first impression you give prospective clients will be a lasting one.
Are you feeling the pressure to produce more business? You need a solid approach for getting referrals that will keep your pipeline full of new cases, and minimize the feast-and-famine revenue cycle common in small law practices.This eBook will teach you how to generate referrals quickly and waste less time by networking strategically.
A recent study found that referred clients are more profitable and loyal than normal clients. Referred clients had a higher contribution margin, a higher retention rate, and were more valuable in both the short and long run.
One easy way to start getting more referrals is to move your practice into a Manhattan shared office space, where you’ll be surrounded by other lawyers who can refer you new business. However, getting referrals isn’t as easy as showing up. A certain level of effort is required to see a return on your investment.
The traditional business development model no longer works because people are researching and maintaining relationships with lawyers in different ways. This article explains how one lawyer was able to retain more clients by putting more effort into his LinkedIn presence.
There is no better source of new clients for a law firm than through referrals. All attorneys know this. But many law firms never get referrals because they don’t ask for them, or they fail to reciprocate when they do get them.
The comparative affordability of coworking space means lawyers have the professional environment they need without the crippling expenses of a private office. Weave referrals into the mix and you get a healthier bottom line, where each additional referral will help make a bigger impact.
If you’re looking to separate yourself long term from the other law firms in your market, you need to consider your brand. The more narrow of a focus you can have, the easier it will be to build your brand.
A few years ago I was working with a client that was a bit disappointed as he said he wasn’t signing the cases he needed. This made me scratch my head as I could clearly see people were calling, emailing, and live chatting with the firm.
The world is in chaos right now and people need comfort. You can help be a hero during this time by simply doing things on social media and your website that show you care.
Paying for the Yellowpages: There are very few markets where these are providing an acceptable return on investment. Most of these areas are rural and it’s unpredictable.
Casey is the founder and president of Ethical SEO Consulting and Juris Digital based in Denver, CO. Casey’s specialties are in organic and local SEO. Casey can be found on the legal tech speaking circuit at conferences like ABA Techshow, BEDLAM, and more.