What accountants think before referring you a client

Referrals are the number one way to win new clients, especially in specialised, high-trust services like law. Clients, even some of the largest corporations, have a hard time telling a good lawyer from a bad one before they engage them. That is exactly why referral is still the best way for a client to decide who to use. But I don't need to tell you that. You already know it instinctively.

Of all those referral sources, accountants are probably the number one for lawyers. So let me put my accounting business owner hat on and walk you through what actually goes through my head before I refer a client out to a lawyer.

First, the client's problem

The first thing I think about is whether I understand what the client is really trying to achieve. What is the problem they are looking to solve.

Once I have a general idea of that, I think about client-lawyer fit. Does my client need a B2B lawyer or a B2C lawyer. Those two kinds of client think and buy in completely different ways, which I broke down in an earlier issue. If it is B2B, say my client is a medium to large corporate, then I start thinking about who I know at the medium to large firms who might be a fit. Then I narrow to practice area. What kind of law does this actually call for. If it is commercial contracts, I think about who I know who does that well.

Then, the personal fit

Once I have honed in on the client's problem, the B2B or B2C classification, and the practice area, I move to the personal side. Can this lawyer truly understand my client's underlying needs, both commercial and relational. That covers whether they sit in the right rough range on fees, and whether they can genuinely listen and deliver an outcome.

Finally, I think about who I can work well with. Everyone who makes my inner list is someone I can work well with. Working well together means working as a team, rather than from our respective silos. In practice, that means:

1. They won't hesitate to contact me for background information or financial reports.
2. They can collaborate with me on the key aspects, tax strategy and the like.
3. Where we see it differently, we sort it out between us. We do not drag the client into the middle and confuse them. The last thing we want is the lawyer and the accountant telling the client two contradictory things.
4. We make each other look good in front of the client. You do an outstanding job, and that lets me look outstanding for putting the two of you together.
5. No throwing the hot potato around. If an issue comes up, "that's a tax issue, go ask your accountant" is unhelpful, especially in a B2C matter where the client will not really understand what the tax issue even is, let alone be able to put it back to me as a question. Instead, you email me to frame the issue, and we cc the client on the exchange.

And charge the client properly. Do not drag both our fees down. We are essentially an extension of each other's brands. The client buckets both of us into the one "professional advisor" category. You being the premium trusted advisor who solves their commercial problem, and charging accordingly, makes it a great deal easier for me to be the same.

What I'm really looking for

So flip all of that around, and here is what I am actually looking for in a lawyer I will feel comfortable referring to someone who:

1. Take the time to understand the client's real problem, commercial and relational, not just the legal task in front of them.
2. The right fit for the client: B2B or B2C, the right practice area, and the right level on fees.
3. Treat the accountant as part of the team, not a silo, and reach out for background and financials without hesitation.
4. Know enough about tax and accounting to ask the right questions and route them back to the accountant, so the client hears one aligned approach rather than two conflicting ones.
5. They never hand the client the hot potato. When something crosses over, they frame it to the accountant and cc the client, instead of sending a confused client back to the accountant on their own.
6. Charge properly and hold their value, because we are an extension of each other's brands and the client sees us as one professional team.

The bottom line

When someone refers a client to you, they are not just passing on a name. They are lending you a relationship they have spent years building, and putting their own standing with that client on the line. So the lawyers they refer to, again and again, are the ones who make that easy: the ones who solve the client's real problem, work with the referrer rather than around them, and make everyone look good in the process. Do that, and you earn a standing place on their shortlist to refer work to.

Earning that spot is one part of a firm that runs the way you'd want it to. The right work coming in, moving through, without all of it landing on you.

If you want to talk any of it through, grab fifteen minutes with me on Zoom. We'll look at where your firm is at and what is worth doing first. Click here to book a 15min chat.

More next Tuesday,
Gordon