A new study identifies the most important characteristics law firms consider when referring work to other lawyers. According to the report by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, a U.K.-based client-development company, quality and reputation are considered critical by all respondents. Ninety-three percent of U.S. respondents also regard the reputation of an individual lawyer as either important or very important. The most common types of referral work are litigation/disputes (sixteen percent), general corporate (fifteen percent), mergers and acquisitions (twelve percent), and intellectual property (ten percent).
Therefore, it’s important in your rainmaking to target other lawyers from both within and outside of your own firm who might be good referral sources. Treat them with the same follow-up techniques you would use for pursuing external referrals.