Your Big Case of 2026 May Come From Here

📈 Where could your biggest case of 2026 actually come from? In this episode of Law Firm Marketing Minute, John breaks down one of the most overlooked referral strategies for solo and small law firms. While many attorneys focus on other lawyers or professional referral partners, John explains why past clients may be your most valuable source of repeat business and referrals in 2026. He shares why staying in touch, ending matters on good terms, and using simple email touchpoints can quietly drive new cases without additional ad spend. This episode is a must-listen for law firms looking to grow smarter, not harder, in 2026.

📌 Key Takeaways:

• Why past clients are often a law firm’s most underutilized referral source
• How email newsletters keep your firm top of mind without feeling salesy
• Why maintaining good relationships can lead to repeat business and referrals

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Chapters

• 0:00 Rethinking Referral Sources
• 0:33 Why Past Clients Matter
• 1:13 Obstacles To Repeat And Referral Work
• 1:53 Email Touchpoints And Staying Top Of Mind
• 2:25 End Well And Keep The Bridge
• 3:16 Closing And CTA

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

The relationships you have with your past clients, right? So we talk about referrals a lot here, and I think a lot of attorneys just automatically default to their referral sources being either other attorneys who are referring them cases that they can't take on for whatever reason, or maybe it's other business owners in um, you know, other industries, you know, like CPAs, chiropractors, um, you know, stuff like that, therapists that would refer them business from a situation that is escalating in some way, right? Well, there are other referral sources as well, your past clients being a big chunk of that. And, you know, for whatever reason, I think a lot of attorneys just don't think about them in that way. And and maybe there are some practice areas that lend themselves to that, right? Like maybe uh, you know, if you're a criminal defense lawyer, you don't necessarily want to have the same felon constantly coming back to you for and maybe you do, I don't know. Um, or maybe family lawyers, maybe they don't want to keep filing divorces for the same person, like they're Elizabeth Taylor or something, right? But I think for the most part, past clients, whether it's transactional work or even some litigation stuff, they are still a valuable source because they already trust you, assuming you've done a good job and they're happy with everything, right? But you know, for whatever reason, there's uh a lot of reasons why people either don't use you again or they just never come back around and contact you again. Whether it's, you know, fees are out of their budget, or they don't necessarily need any more legal work, or they've uh, you know, maybe you made a mistake and they don't trust you anymore, or whatever it is. You know, there are there are a bunch of different ways, but it's so, so valuable to keep those past clients in your network. And that's a big reason why when we're working with our clients and we want them to send email newsletters, we want their leads and past clients on that email list to create those touch points to come back around again, whether it's for repeat business, which we've seen happen a lot, or it's those past clients who are like, yes, I remember working with you, I know someone who is going through a similar situation, I'm gonna send them your way. And it's it's just such an easy, small thing to do that pro brings in business that you otherwise never would have had. So, um, you know, in every case, even if even if things don't go the way that you or the client wanted them to, rem always try to just end things amicably. Don't don't burn bridges, don't, you know, try to make things right if there was that negative situation, and keep them around. Keep them on your contact list, stay top of mind with them. You never know, right? I mean, the worst thing they're gonna do is unsubscribe, and that's fine, you know. So keep those past clients in mind. They are a really good referral source for your firm uh and and can really be great ambassadors and evangelists for your firm and be your biggest cheerleaders, right? So hope that was a little good little nugget uh of inspiration for you today, and that'll do it. We'll see you tomorrow.

SPEAKER_01: 3:16

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