Increase Your Referrals

The oldest, most reliable form of generating leads for lawyers are referrals. In fact, it is probable that your very first client came to you via a referral, who, in turn, referred the second client and so forth. The 2017 Clio study found that 62-percent of people find their attorneys through referrals from family or friends.

How can you increase your referrals?

Do Good Work: The best referrals come from satisfied clients and doing good work for those clients is the very best way to get those referrals. Clients notice the small things—being on time, listening to what they say, explain and explain again until they understand, even when they don’t get all they want. Those contented clients will remember you and will send others your way.

Expand your e-mail list: Be sure to ask for a new client’s e-mail and permission to send information via e-mail. Assuming your website has content, use that content to send out a periodic e-newsletter. Your newsletter should include great content, images, links and overviews. It doesn’t need to be long, simply well-written and attractively formatted. And don’t forget to include bits about the daily goings-on in the office that shows off your staff’s personality. Such content gives a personal touch and makes people feel invested in the people behind your brand.

Create and maintain relationships with other businesses: Forming relationships with businesses that complement your practice such as, for example, accountants, investment advisors, realtors, or health professionals can also lead to referrals. Keep them up to date with a newsletter and remember to refer business their way when appropriate.


Out of the Office Activities: Lawyers donate a lot of time to their communities. Most find such work gratifying. Report about it in your newsletter. Remember that clients and peers who know more about the firm are more comfortable making a referral.

And, finally, show your appreciation for clients who refer work your way. This can be as simple as a hand-written thank-you note to show your gratitude for the effort they’ve taken to help your business. Even if you don’t take the matter and refer it to another lawyer, be sure to thank the client. They will remember, refer other matters and your business will grow.

Keeping Your Clients Coming Back

While lawyers and law firms do not have Black Friday sales on contracts or wills, there are techniques you can use to retain clientele. The practice of law is both a service and legal business. Looking at both of these aspects can help you find ways to retain clients.

The Legal Business

• Do great work and be a leader in your area of practice. Your legal work should demonstrate a good understanding of issues and satisfy your client, even if the result was not quite the one desired.
• Plan for an imperfect outcome—there are two sides to every legal issue, so a frank discussion of both sides and the merits of each case will prepare your client for an adverse outcome should one occur. And, when you win on all points, you’ll look like a star.
• Know your client’s business well enough to be aware of legal issues that may come up in the future. A simple note about a regulation change that may affect business will let clients know you are aware of their needs.
• Keep clients informed. For example, when you write a blog post about the latest case that could affect client estate plans, send them a copy of the post.

The Service Business

The service side of your business is just as important as the legal side. There are several lawyers who can do what you do, so giving clients that little extra bit of care will keep them coming back and referring others to you. Here are some things to consider.

• Communicate—the biggest complaint clients make about lawyers is their failure to communicate (American Bar Association study). Know how your clients like to be kept informed of case progress, either by phone or email.
• If you want clients to know you care for them, just check in from time to time. Even if nothing is going on, phone, stop in, or take them out to lunch.
• There is a good chance that clients will interact more with your staff than with you, so make sure your staff is professional. A helpful office staff is a great asset and increases your service value immensely.
• If your client needs help with a legal matter outside of your area of expertise, offer referrals to lawyers who can help. They will remember your assistance, call you for other legal needs, and bring referrals to you.

Take some time now to think about how to keep your clients coming back, and be sure to add these strategies to your business plan.

After years practicing law, Roberta Gubbins served as editor of the Ingham County Legal News. Since leaving the paper, she provides writing services to lawyers ghostwriting content for websites, blogs, and articles. She is editor of The Mentor, the SBM Master Lawyers Section newsletter.

Face to Face Networking—You Need It

“Are you ready?” Dick asked sister Sally. “I have to be there early to help set up.”

Sally sighed, “I’ve been talking all day. I don’t have any words left.”

“You’ll be fine. You like these events and you said you want to meet the new probate Judge,” said Dick as they walked out together on their way to their bar association networking event.

Dick was right. Sally was the type who enjoyed their face to face networking efforts while Dick was more comfortable when he had a task to perform. Both, however, realize the importance of attending networking opportunities.

Why You Need to Network In-person.

Lawyers, like the majority of humanity, are social beings. That means despite all your Internet social networking efforts, you need to get out of your office and go out into the world.

Meeting people face to face, sharing experiences, ideas and interests is a valuable opportunity to keep your name and practice a step ahead. Meeting in person lets your online acquaintances put a face and personality to the name they see on the blog or e-mail or website and helps build trust while creating a positive rapport for future discussions.

Your reasons for attending an event will vary with the type of audience. Dick and Sally are attending a bar association event. As Elder Law practitioners, they receive a number of referrals from other attorneys and make referrals to lawyers in other areas of practice. Thus, their goal is to renew old acquaintances and meet new members. If they were attending a community event, they would want to meet new people and find a way to assist the group.

How to succeed.

Once you’ve decided why you’re attending this particular event, here’s how to make the most of your time:
        • Pinpoint your networking goal,
        • Discover who will be there, decide who you want to meet and ask yourself what you want to know about them,
       • Have a 10 second introduction ready. People want to know both your name and area of practice, and
         Think about what you have to give to others.

Now you’re at the event, it’s the cocktail hour, everyone is milling around. Some of you are naturals at these events—you can schmooze with the best of them. Others need help. People like to talk about themselves so a few questions can get the conversation going.

1. How long have you been a member of this organization?
2. What keeps you busy outside of your practice?
3. What got you interested in ________________?
4. I read your book, blog, article …,
5. I just saw on LinkedIn that we went to the same college.

Don’t monopolize the conversation and leave gracefully. Introduce the person to a new arrival if known or simply comment on how much you’ve enjoyed talking with them and excuse yourself. Then move on.

You aren’t done simply because the event is over. If you promised a follow-up, do it within a week of the event or you will lose credibility that you can never get back.

A healthy network is made up of contacts from all parts of your life. Face to face networking added to your Internet campaign will help your practice grow.