Referrals make the legal world go ’round. Here, we discuss attorney professional relationships from a B2B perspective and how coworking space for lawyers helps facilitate them.
It’s been the way of the legal profession from time immemorial. Referrals are vital for building a full client pipeline and maintaining a steadier income stream. Coworking space offers a unique opportunity for lawyers to make and maintain peer connections, especially where referrals are part of the coworking space’s culture.
Coworking space brings lawyers together who might never have the chance to network in a more traditional law office environment. It’s a mutually beneficial opportunity that helps the practice of everyone in the equation.
Coworking lowers fixed expenses, so referrals have a bigger impact
The comparative affordability of coworking space means lawyers have the professional environment they need without the crippling expenses of a private office situation. Weave referrals into the mix and you get a healthier bottom line, where each additional referral will help make a bigger impact.
When costs are lower, referrals help support an upward trajectory. When referrals are part of the office culture, it may contribute to a better chance of meeting financial goals sooner.
Shared office space aligns you with the right peers
If you sublet an extra office at a large law firm, referrals might as well be a pipe dream. Those large firms usually have enough talent in-house to manage most of the cases that come through their doors. Solo attorneys and small firms are more likely to use coworking space. That means the next referral could literally be down the hall.
Shared office space is the ideal combination of a professional law office environment for small practices and a rich, varied law office community where each practice helps bolster the others.
Referrals can help pay the rent
Few and far between are the individual referrals that pack enough punch to make a solo practice thrive. The benefit is in volume. In a coworking space, referrals happen much more regularly, and referral ROI can actually become quantifiable.
Referring to coworkers and receiving referrals from them has the effect of offsetting practice expenses. Most lawyers exchange referrals occasionally, but when referrals are part of everyday business, they become much more than an inconsistent now-and-again perk.
Referrals help reduce the likelihood of malpractice
This might be a surprising benefit of coworking space. Solo practice attorneys typically need every client who reaches out. This can lead to accepting cases that are beyond an attorney’s particular areas of expertise. In a coworking space with other lawyers, there’s often a peer nearby who can answer questions or work alongside as co-counsel.
Reaching out to another lawyer who has the expertise required to handle a case provides the client with solid representation. Since referrals aren’t a one-way street, a situation where a client is handed over or shared doesn’t equate to loss of revenue over the long haul.
Coworking space with other lawyers helps small practices enjoy the advantages of lower costs, a prime location, a great community and more referral revenue. While lawyers have been sharing office space for centuries, the coworking movement has created an awareness about the benefits of sharing space with other lawyers that, just a few years ago, were not as universally understood.
