Though we used chain-referral sampling to build our list of private client lawyers and the sample size is small, the findings are useful in that they reinforce and add context to our research findings about single-family-office senior executives.

Elite Private Client Lawyers Are Thought Leaders
Most elite private client lawyers at this level are not selling time. Instead, they are providing expertise and are charging significant fees for their knowledge and experience.

But being talented is not enough to generate these levels of compensation. To rise above the competition, they must also be thought leaders. Almost nine out of 10 of the elite private client lawyers surveyed believe themselves to be well-recognized authorities in their fields (Figure 3).

Elite Private Client Lawyers Making Referrals
Thought leaders are magnets both for clients and other professionals looking for wealthy clients. Because elite private client lawyers have high-net-worth clients, other professionals naturally want to work with them, and many of these lawyers will indeed refer their wealthy clients to other professionals (Figure 4).

Almost all the elite private client lawyers said they would refer their wealthy clients to peers for legal expertise they cannot provide. This referral can be made within or outside their law firms. About 70% of private client lawyers said they will often direct business to accountants, while a fifth will do so sometimes. Only about 10% percent said they rarely or never do.

Almost 65% of elite private client lawyers will regularly refer wealthy clients to insurance agents, and slightly more than a fifth of them will do so sometimes. Only a sixth of them said they do so rarely or not at all. About half the elite private client lawyers said they regularly refer their wealthy clients to investment advisors. Thirty percent said they refer sometimes, while almost a fifth said they refer rarely or not at all.

Most elite private client lawyers want to work with leading authorities and experts in their fields. Thought leaders prefer to send people to other thought leaders.

If you are a thought leader, it makes it that much easier for private client lawyers to introduce their wealthy clients to you. There is usually little if any pushback from the clients, and it is easy to explain why you are the person the wealthy client should be working with.