Intellectual Property Lawyer: Best Referral Sources
Who should be sending you clients, and the rooms they are already sitting in.
Get the networking events worth showing up to
Tell us where you are. We will send you the best rooms for IP attorneys and the next meeting dates. Add a ZIP and this page will also show your local chapters and which seats are open.
Most business owners network where their competitors are, not where their referral partners are.
Your own trade group is for learning. Your partners' groups are where the work comes from. Everything below starts with one question. When something happens that makes people need IP attorneys, who else gets a call that same week?
IP attorneys sell to other businesses, and most of the work starts when a business launches or rebrands. People take their time deciding, so a recommendation carries most of the weight. Clients return now and then, so the introduction has to keep paying off.
- Rebrand or launchwhen a business launches or rebrands
- Business formationwhen somebody starts a company
- Lawsuit or claimwhen somebody gets sued
- Sale of a businesswhen an owner sells the company
Who should be sending you clients
Who you should be sending clients to
Ranked by what starts the job, not by who sounds close to your trade.
The same list, turned around. Give first and the rest follows.
- 01
Attorney Business & Corporate
They send you work80Trigger: somebody starts a company
Business attorneys hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.
- 02
Business Banker
They send you work76Trigger: somebody starts a company
Business bankers hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.
- 03
CPA / Accountant
They send you work71Trigger: somebody starts a company
CPAs hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.
- 04
Restaurant / Food Service
They send you work69Trigger: somebody starts a company
Restaurants hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.
- 05
Bookkeeper
Two-way67Trigger: somebody starts a company
You and bookkeepers both get the call when somebody starts a company, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.
- 06
Attorney Employment & Labor
Two-way67Trigger: somebody gets sued
You and employment attorneys both get the call when somebody gets sued, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.
- 07
Graphic Designer
Two-way66Trigger: a business launches or rebrands
You and graphic designers both get the call when a business launches or rebrands, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.
- 08
Financial Advisor
They send you work66Trigger: an owner sells the company
Financial advisors hear about it when an owner sells the company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.
- 09
Public Relations
You send them work65Trigger: a business launches or rebrands
You hear about it when a business launches or rebrands, before PR firms do. Expect to give more than you get back here.
- 10
Digital Marketing Agency
You send them work64Trigger: a business launches or rebrands
You hear about it when a business launches or rebrands, before digital marketing agencies do. Expect to give more than you get back here.
- 01
Graphic Designer
Two-way70Trigger: a business launches or rebrands
You and graphic designers both get the call when a business launches or rebrands, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.
- 02
Radio / TV / Media Advertising
You send them work69Trigger: a business launches or rebrands
You hear about it when a business launches or rebrands, before media and advertising reps do. Expect to give more than you get back here.
- 03
Public Relations
You send them work68Trigger: a business launches or rebrands
You hear about it when a business launches or rebrands, before PR firms do. Expect to give more than you get back here.
- 04
Web Developer
You send them work68Trigger: a business launches or rebrands
You hear about it when a business launches or rebrands, before web developers do. Expect to give more than you get back here.
- 05
Sign Company
You send them work66Trigger: a business launches or rebrands
You hear about it when a business launches or rebrands, before sign companies do. Expect to give more than you get back here.
- 06
Merchant Services / Payment Processing
You send them work65Trigger: somebody starts a company
You hear about it when somebody starts a company, before merchant services providers do. Expect to give more than you get back here.
Where those people actually are
Ranked by how many of your best partners are in the room, and how much work each one can send you.
Vistage
Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
Run CEO peer groups. You are buying advice, not leads, but the group turns into a warm list over time.
Find your local chapter →Give someone nine choices and they pick none. If you do one thing from this page, do this.
- 01
Vistage
Paid peer groupYour partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
Run CEO peer groups. You are buying advice, not leads, but the group turns into a warm list over time.
Chapter finder → - 02
Your city or county chamber of commerce
Chamber of commerceYour partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
Too big and too broad on its own. The value is in one committee. Pick one and go every time. The same fifteen people show up, and they get to know you.
Chapter finder → - 03
LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities
Online communityYour partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
Works when your buyer has a job title. Useful comments on your partners' posts beat posting your own.
Chapter finder → - 04
State CPA society
Your partners' associationYour partners are in this room: CPAs, bookkeepers, and financial advisors.
A CPA is the person most business owners trust most. Sponsors can go to chapter meetings and classes.
Chapter finder → - 05
EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization)
Paid peer groupYour partners are in this room: business attorneys, financial advisors, and PR firms.
Owners above a revenue bar, meeting in private. Few referrals, but the ones that happen are big and close fast.
Chapter finder → - 06
Local business expo
Event or trade showYour partners are in this room: restaurants, graphic designers, and digital marketing agencies.
Usually run by the chamber. Each chat is short, but you can meet twenty nearby businesses in one morning. Good when you are starting from nothing.
- 07
Your local estate planning council
Your partners' associationYour partners are in this room: CPAs and financial advisors.
Estate lawyers, CPAs, bankers, and insurance people in one room on purpose. It was built for this kind of referral.
Chapter finder → - 08
NAWBO (women business owners)
Chamber of commerceYour partners are in this room: bookkeepers, graphic designers, and digital marketing agencies.
Chapters built on relationships. Members say it turns into work more often than a regular chamber.
Chapter finder →
Vistage
Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
Run CEO peer groups. You are buying advice, not leads, but the group turns into a warm list over time.
Find your local chapter →Give someone nine choices and they pick none. If you do one thing from this page, do this.
- 01
Vistage
Paid peer groupYour partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
Run CEO peer groups. You are buying advice, not leads, but the group turns into a warm list over time.
Chapter finder → - 02
Your city or county chamber of commerce
Chamber of commerceYour partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
Too big and too broad on its own. The value is in one committee. Pick one and go every time. The same fifteen people show up, and they get to know you.
Chapter finder → - 03
LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities
Online communityYour partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
Works when your buyer has a job title. Useful comments on your partners' posts beat posting your own.
Chapter finder → - 04
State CPA society
Your partners' associationYour partners are in this room: CPAs, bookkeepers, and financial advisors.
A CPA is the person most business owners trust most. Sponsors can go to chapter meetings and classes.
Chapter finder → - 05
EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization)
Paid peer groupYour partners are in this room: business attorneys, financial advisors, and PR firms.
Owners above a revenue bar, meeting in private. Few referrals, but the ones that happen are big and close fast.
Chapter finder → - 06
Local business expo
Event or trade showYour partners are in this room: restaurants, graphic designers, and digital marketing agencies.
Usually run by the chamber. Each chat is short, but you can meet twenty nearby businesses in one morning. Good when you are starting from nothing.
- 07
Your local estate planning council
Your partners' associationYour partners are in this room: CPAs and financial advisors.
Estate lawyers, CPAs, bankers, and insurance people in one room on purpose. It was built for this kind of referral.
Chapter finder → - 08
NAWBO (women business owners)
Chamber of commerceYour partners are in this room: bookkeepers, graphic designers, and digital marketing agencies.
Chapters built on relationships. Members say it turns into work more often than a regular chamber.
Chapter finder →
State bar practice sections
Most IP attorneys join this room first. It is also the one most likely to be the wrong pick. Classes, standards, and lawyers who share cases. The exception is across practice areas. Estate and family lawyers refer to each other all the time. Everyone in it does what you do. Join it for the training, the licences, and the ties to manufacturers. Do not join it for referrals, and do not join it instead of the rooms above.
State bar practice sections →Let us be straight with you. For IP attorneys, a weekly referral group is not the best pick. Your partners gather in professional groups instead, so spend your time there. We would rather say that than sell you a seat you do not need.
Is your seat open?
Prime Time takes one attorney intellectual property per chapter. Put in a South Florida ZIP above and we will show you which seats are open.
Add a ZIP code at the top of the page to see which seats are open.
Prime Time doesn't operate where you are yet.
We have fifteen chapters in South Florida and none near you. Telling you to join would be bad advice. The rooms above are the real answer where you are. We can email you the one page version and let you know if we open near you.
Send me those roomsHave the next meetings sent to you
The rooms above are the answer. This is when they meet. Tell us where to send it and we will email you the next dates for IP attorneys, with the one page plan.
We already know your trade and your area from this page, so there is nothing else to fill in. We do not ask for a phone number. Every email we send has an unsubscribe link.
Your one-page action plan
Five partners, five things to say, three rooms. Print it and keep it in the car.
Networking plan: Attorney Intellectual Property
The five people who should be sending you clients
- Attorney Business & Corporate (They send you work)
Shared trigger: somebody starts a company - Business Banker (They send you work)
Shared trigger: somebody starts a company - CPA / Accountant (They send you work)
Shared trigger: somebody starts a company - Restaurant / Food Service (They send you work)
Shared trigger: somebody starts a company - Bookkeeper (Two-way)
Shared trigger: somebody starts a company
The three rooms to be in
- Vistage: Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
- Your city or county chamber of commerce: Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
- LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities: Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
- Vistage: Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
- Your city or county chamber of commerce: Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
- LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities: Your partners are in this room: business attorneys, business bankers, and CPAs.
Don't confuse this with networking: State bar practice sections. Learning and supplier access, not referrals.