Most jurisdictions as far as I know prohibit lawyers from paying referral fees (let me know if I’m wrong about this. I know my jurisdiction does).
As business owners, we love it when clients send us business by word-of-mouth. Why? Because word-of-mouth marketing costs us nothing. More importantly, word-of-mouth referrals come to us pre-sold. In fact, in my experience, clients who see me who were referred, came to see me to discuss their case and get started; not to determine whether they’ll hire me.
Alternative referral incentive program:
Tell referral sources that you’ll donate $X amount to a charity of the referrer’s choosing. It can be a set amount or a percentage of the ultimate legal fee. Institute this for every client they refer to you.
Caution: check with your governing authority whether this would be permitted.
What if the charity donation referral isn’t permitted? Then ask if a donation to any legal aid fund would be okay. If so, just tell referral sources that $X or percentage-of-fees amount will be donated to a legal aid fund for each referral.
If the charity referral donation is also too aggressive for your governing body, be sure to always send a thank you card or letter to your referrals.
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