(Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net/Ambro)
I am a member of a group of people and companies who provide services to the legal industry in New Jersey, The Legal Vendors Network (the group will be rebranded in 2016 so stay tuned for the new name and services provided). The interesting thing about this group is that there is only one member in each vendor category – one accounting firm, one court reporting firm, one translation company, one benefits company, one document destruction company, one office supplies company, one Rainmaking Trainer (me) and many other services.
There are other networking organizations who organize their memberships the same way – BNI, LeTip and countless others. It is a way of organizing your network so that you have no competition among the member in obtaining referrals when the chance comes along.
You can do the same thing with other lawyers. You can build your own Legal Referral Network.
Whether you are a solo practitioner, a small firm, midsize or large, you can create a network in which each legal category is filled by someone you know, like and trust.
Since I am always telling my clients (and my readers) that they need to find a niche and industry practice in which they concentrate, you become the only member of the group who provides those services. For example, if you are a family law practitioner you fill that category. Then you invite lawyers who practice in other areas of law. Ask an attorney who works in real estate law, another who works in intellectual property, another who works in trusts and estates, and so on. There are so many legal categories in which you can pick one person to fill, but the key is to only have one person in each practice area.
The most important thing, however, is creating relationships with these people to help each other build your respective practices. You must meet on a regular basis. It is preferable that you meet at least once per week, however that may be a pipe dream. How about every other week? By meeting consistently, you get to know about your fellow members. You can help the other members of your Legal Referral Network in so many ways, more than just providing direct referrals.
If you are in a “full service” law firm, regardless of size, then choose members of the firm in other practice areas and do the same thing (by the way, this is also known as “cross-marketing” ). Particularly in law firms, you never want to hear a loyal client say: “I didn’t know your firm did that” as they hire another firm to help them with something someone in your firm could have accomplished.
It is a strategic process and you can guide it along, but you must create the relationships with the other attorneys so that they feel comfortable referring business, knowing that you will take care of the people whom they refer to you.
A quick reminder! The end of the year is approaching and you need your Ethics CLEs.
LEARN TO BECOME A RAINMAKER AND GET YOUR ETHICS CREDITS!
IF YOU ARE IN A NEW YORK OR NEW JERSEY LAW FIRM AND HAVE 10 OR MORE ATTORNEYS, SCHEDULE AN ON-SITE RAINMAKING TRAINING SEMINAR IN 10 DIFFERENT TOPICS – EACH WITH ETHICS CLEs – SPECIAL PRICING IS AVAILABLE FOR SEMINARS SCHEDULED BY YOUR FIRM IN NOVEMBER & DECEMBER. THERE ARE STILL DATES AVAILABLE TILL THE END OF THE YEAR.
CONTACT ME FOR DETAILS (More state being added each month).
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