Referrals Aren’t a Given at Your Law Firm, They Are a Benefit from Earning Them
- Julie Fisher
- 3 days ago
- 9 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Learn 5 steps to better referral partnerships, along with a successful business development segmentation you can implement in your law firm today.
The Referral Struggle Law Firms Don’t Talk About
For solo, small, and boutique mid-sized law firms, referrals are often your best cases because they arrive with built-in trust, higher case value, and stronger client relationships. Clio’s 2025 Legal Trends report found that 59% of solo and small firms noted referrals as their highest referring source of leads while only large firms noted 29% came from referral sources.
But here’s the truth: referrals don’t just roll in because you do good work. Lawyers everywhere struggle with the same pain points: time to spend on business development efforts, inconsistent referral volume, poor-fit cases, or unreliable intake data that hides where referrals are really coming from.
“Building law firm referrals that deliver good leads consistently takes more than waiting for the phone to ring. It requires strategy and a plan with a process that you can run like an engine.”
Why is this so important to your practice thriving? Because another 2025 study by Juris Page reported that 81% of people looking for a lawyer ask for referrals. So, if you want leads in need, ready to retain your legal counsel; building a strong referral partnership program is a must-have, not a side bar note to your legal marketing and business development strategy.
Here are five steps you can take today to strengthen your law firm referral marketing partnerships and put your firm in control of its growth.
Step 1: Identify and Segment Your Referral Sources
Every lawyer knows referrals come from somewhere but few take the time to actually map and measure them. Who can blame them? They are busy with legal work. However, there is value in the knowing and quite accomplishable. So, the first step is understanding who is sending clients your way and which ones are sending the right clients.
It’s important to note inside Step 1, that having a CRM (customer relationship management system) provides you the ability to keep track and update information and nurture them with an email marketing strategy. This is about law firm CRM best practices.
Your marketing leader will handle the automations involved, collaborate on the message to ensure branding stays on point, and will document efforts that you share with them or they’ve done on your behalf.
Common referral sources for small and boutique firms include:
Other professionals (medical providers, financial advisors, accountants, HR consultants, depending on your practice area).
Other attorneys (those in different practice areas or outside your jurisdiction).
Past clients who had a positive experience.
Community partners such as nonprofits, local businesses, or associations.
Once you’ve identified them, segment, and document inside a CRM by quality and consistency:
Who sends you matters that convert into the clients you want?
Who sends random or unqualified leads?
Who could send more if you educated or nurtured them?
👉 Closing thought: Not all referrals are equal. By prioritizing high-value partners, you stop wasting time chasing every lead and instead focus on building a sustainable base of trusted relationships. Read further to learn about a segmentation model that has brought success for me at any business I worked at, including law firms. Note: none of those law firms had a business development plan in place and this helped them to scale their business effectively and achieve great results.
Step 2: Build Intentional Outreach and Education
Strong referrals don’t happen just because people “like” you. They happen because your referral partners know exactly who you serve best and how to spot a good referral opportunity. This step requires a proactive outreach and education to get those partnerships primed and ready to go.
Ways to do this include:
Quarterly updates (digital or print) with anonymized client stories that reinforce what types of matters are right for your firm.
Regular coffee or lunch meetings with your top partners.
Workshops or presentations tailored to your partners’ industries (CLEs for attorneys, seminars for financial professionals, roundtables for business leaders).
Simple referral guides (print or digital) outlining: “Here’s when to send a client to us.”
Learn their business needs: make it a mutual referral arrangement and it goes high-level, sponsor an event, join in on an event, and champion their cause. Maybe co-write an article or create an event in your community.
👉 Closing thought: Consistency wins. The clearer you are with outreach, the more likely partners will think of you when they encounter a client who matches your firm’s focus.
Step 3: Track Every Lead at Intake
This is where most law firms lose control. Referrals only matter if you can track them. How should law firms track referral sources? Referral tracking for lawyers is best handled by intake and supported by your marketing leader. Because, without clean intake data, your firm can’t tell which referral partners are valuable and which relationships need more attention.
Another study by Clio noted that a staggering 26% of law firms do not track leads at all, while an astonishing 86% fail to collect email addresses and 45% fail to collect phone numbers during initial client calls.
Keyways to tighten intake tracking:
Standardize referral source fields in your CRM or case management system.
Train intake staff to ask specific, clarifying questions: “Were you referred by another professional, attorney, or past client?” instead of leaving it just at “How did you hear about us?”
Use tools like call tracking or unique referral codes to verify referral sources.
Audit your intake weekly or monthly to catch mistakes early.
👉 Closing thought: When you know with certainty which partners bring the right matters, you can reward them, deepen those relationships, and ultimately replicate that success with others.
Step 4: Nurture and Recognize Referral Partners
Referrers are people, not pipelines. They need to feel valued. Recognition is the difference between a one-time referral and a steady stream of them.
You get busy, they do too. Keep the human connection going within this business relationship and you will be guaranteed the “top of mind” quality business for which you’ve been aiming. The Golden Rule applies here: treat people the way you want to be treated.
“Don’t just send out any swag or goodie, find out what they actually like!”
5 Practical ways to nurture referral partners:
Handwritten thank-you notes after each referral.
Personal check-in calls from the attorney.
Thoughtful tokens of appreciation (not just generic gifts).
Sharing anonymized success stories so partners see the impact of their referral.
Tiered recognition programs that show your top partners you notice their support.
👉 Closing thought: Treat your referral partners like part of your extended team. A little recognition goes a long way. And, in law firm growth, loyalty compounds.
Step 5: Measure, Refine, and Scale
Referral systems aren’t “set it and forget it.” They require ongoing review to stay effective. Data-driven marketing supports your business development efforts and shows you who to reward, who needs more guidance, and who to let fall to the background. Here are some KPIs that specifically target this concept and establishing the right KPIs is very important as many law firms tend to get this wrong.
Your CRM again plays a big role here by their ability to have statistics for your questions, your ROI, and more. Can your case management supply some data? Yes, but not to the same degree a CRM can – they just aren’t built with the same deliverables. If your law firm does not have a CRM or needs to find a new one, let me share that is a perfect way Fisher Marketing Services can help you. Check out our plan options to learn more.
Metrics and actions to track business development efforts include:
Top referral partners: who sent the most qualified matters this quarter?
Conversion rates: which referrals actually became paying clients?
Revenue impact: how much of your annual revenue comes from referrals?
Growth opportunities: can you replicate strong referral partnerships in new industries or with different types of professionals?
👉 Closing thought: Even small improvements matter. For a solo firm, one or two more strong referrals per month can transform revenue. For mid-sized boutiques, scaling referral partnerships creates stability and reduces reliance on costly ad campaigns.
Lessons from My Career: How Account Segmentation Builds Stronger Referral Partnerships
Before working with law firms, I spent years building up accounts in assigned territories. Success wasn’t about chance — it came from knowing how to segment relationships and nurture them in the right way. That same discipline translates perfectly to how lawyers should approach their referral partners today.
I used what I call the A-B-C segmentation model:
A Accounts: These were the best accounts to win. Once you landed them, the goal was to keep them happy, deliver consistently, and always ask how you could do better. In law firm terms, these are your top referral partners who will be sending high-quality matters who deserve regular attention and appreciation.
B Accounts: These were good accounts, but they required more grooming and education. They might never rise to “A” status, but they still provided valuable things: introductions, soft referrals, or leads that just needed more nurturing. For lawyers, this could mean professionals or attorneys who don’t send perfect cases but still keep your name moving in the right circles
C Accounts: These were the coldest accounts. Some were tough to connect with, but I never wrote them off. Instead, I kept them “on ice” with occasional nods or check-ins. Why? Because people leave jobs, retire, or get promoted — and a closed door today can open tomorrow. The same holds true in legal: a lawyer at another firm who isn’t helpful today may be in a new position tomorrow and suddenly become a valuable ally.
"And here’s the part lawyers sometimes overlook: referral relationships aren’t just vertical, they’re horizontal."
Never underestimate the front desk person or the paralegal. They might be the owner’s daughter, friend, or trusted colleague! And, they can either open the door for you or shut it fast. Winning over gatekeepers is just as important as impressing decision-makers.
That’s why I’ve always kept detailed CRM records. Mergers happen. People change firms. Lawyers are notorious for moving when better opportunities arise. If your CRM is up to date, you’ll know when someone leaves because your marketing team gets that email bounce-back saying, “This person is no longer at this firm.” That’s your signal to reach out, reestablish contact, and keep the relationship alive.
👉 Closing thought: Accounts (and referral sources) aren’t static. They evolve with people and circumstances. The key is to segment, stay present, and never stop nurturing. That consistency turns chance encounters into lasting referral partnerships.
Coaching Support: Turning Referral Strategy into Actionable Plans
Why do lawyers need coaching for referrals? One of the biggest reasons referrals stall out is because the admin side gets neglected. No lawyer went to law school to spend time managing CRM entries, reminding intake to capture referral data, or mapping out follow-up campaigns. Yet, these are the very steps that make a referral system run smoothly.
This is where coaching and business development support change the game. With the right guidance, attorneys don’t have to shoulder the admin burden alone. Coaching for attorneys and your law firm will help align the business development approach with the operational processes that keep referrals trackable and developing:
CRM entry and accuracy: ensuring referral source data is captured correctly.
Notifications to marketing staff or directors: so, referrals are tracked and acknowledged quickly.
Collaborative strategy discussions: helping attorneys align referral activity with their professional goals.
From there, attorneys receive a tailored roadmap that turns ideas into action:
Hosting webinars, CLEs, or workshops to expand visibility.
Planning networking events, coffee meetings, or appreciation dinners with key partners.
Using social media acknowledgments to publicly recognize and strengthen referral relationships.
Creating content and thought leadership campaigns that position the attorney as a trusted voice.
👉 Closing thought: With coaching, attorneys don’t just hope referrals will happen—they get support in building and running the system. This frees them to focus on practicing law while still growing their referral pipeline.
Law Firm Client Referrals Are Earned, Not Given
For solo, small, and boutique mid-sized law firms, referrals aren’t just “nice to have.” They are a powerful growth channel but only when treated as a strategy, not an accident.
Another study done this year showed 35% of lawyers get less than half of their new business from referrals. Another 18% aren't sure how much of their sales come from referrals. The remaining 53% regularly receive and convert law firm referrals into new clients. Where does your law firm stand? Are you certain of the number because it is backed by actual data or is it an opinion, an estimate?
By identifying your best sources, educating, and recognizing them, tracking intake, aligning operations through coaching, and continuously refining your approach, you can build a referral marketing engine that consistently delivers the right cases.
Referrals are powerful, but they’re even more impactful when tied into your larger business development strategy. In fact, I break down how law firms can move from referrals to ROI in this post: 5 Ways Fractional CMOs Fuel Law Firm Growth.
The law firms that thrive are the ones that stop waiting for referrals and start earning them — and the best time to take action is today. With Fisher Marketing Services fractional CMO support, your law firm can develop and grow with expert marketing leadership at a cost-friendly price point.
If referrals are inconsistent at your law firm, let’s fix that. Work with experience and build the legal practice that delivers results. Book a FREE intro call with me to learn more about how I can help build that with and for you.
Julie Fisher lives in Beaumont, CA, and is the founder of Fisher Marketing Services LLC, a leading fractional CMO and marketing agency. Julie's agency focuses on law firm marketing leadership and related counseling, with a strong focus on marketing strategy and planning. She serves solo, small to mid-sized boutique law firms nationwide. Julie has over 30 years of B2B and B2C account management, business development, and marketing experience that includes over 7 years of in-house law firm marketing leadership. You can reach her at juliefisher@fisher-marketing.com or follow her on LinkedIn: Julie Fisher - Fractional law firm CMO.
