Who actually sends lawyers clients
Other lawyers, first. Every lawyer turns work away for practice area, jurisdiction, conflict or capacity reasons, and each of those is a potential referral to someone they trust. Then adjacent professionals: accountants and tax advisers, bankers and lenders, brokers, insurance advisers, consultants and financial planners. They see legal needs before the client knows it is a legal need. Finally, clients themselves — especially general counsel and founders who talk to each other.
None of these people are searching Google for you. They are asking 'who do you know?'.
Why 'who do you know?' is hard to answer
When a colleague asks an accountant for a lawyer, the accountant has to remember you, remember what you do, and explain it — usually from a card exchanged two years ago. Most of the time they cannot, so they name whoever they spoke to most recently. Being remembered accurately is the real bottleneck, not being liked.
A B2B ID removes the explaining. The accountant sends a link. The colleague reads what you take, what you refer out, your jurisdictions, industries and proof, and sends a structured request. The recommendation carries context instead of relying on memory.
Make yourself easy to recommend
Write your B2B ID so a non-lawyer can recommend you accurately. Use the words a client would use. Name industries. State what you are looking for. Then share the link with the people who already refer you, and ask them to forward it rather than describe you.
On B2B.ID, professionals can also recommend a lawyer directly — a structured recommendation attached to your B2B ID that another person can act on.
Start relationships with structure
New relationships usually begin cold: a message with no context. On B2B.ID they begin with a request — Request Introduction, Request Meeting or Request Partnership — that carries both B2B IDs and a stated purpose. The other side can evaluate fit before replying. That is the difference between networking and doing business.
Where your jurisdiction has rules about solicitation or about arrangements with people who refer clients, follow them. Lawyers are responsible for complying with the professional-conduct rules and other requirements applicable to their jurisdiction and matter. Nothing in this guide is legal or ethics advice.
Reciprocity, not scorekeeping
Relationships that last are two-way, but they do not need a ledger. Describe what you refer out, send matters you cannot take to the lawyers you trust, and recommend the professionals who serve your clients well. Being a reliable source for other people is what makes them one for you.