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Referral partnerships for lawyers who act for trades businesses

Incorporations, shareholder changes, purchases and sales all raise marketing questions nobody puts in the agreement. You handle the legal side; we help the owner sort out and market the business.

Written by Ali Sedighi, MBALast updated:

Lawyers who act for trades businesses see them at turning points: a sole proprietor incorporating, two partners splitting, a family company passing to the next generation, a competitor being bought. Each of those changes has a marketing side that rarely makes it into the agreement. That's where we come in, and only there.

What this partnership is

It's a documented way for a lawyer or paralegal to suggest us when a trades client needs marketing help around a legal change. You never have to explain marketing to the client. You mention that a specialist exists; the client calls if they want to.

The terms of the arrangement are written before the first referral and shared with the client. Ontario lawyers and paralegals are licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, and only you can judge what your professional obligations allow. We'd rather you check than assume.

Who it suits

Business and corporate lawyers, small-firm generalists and paralegals whose files regularly include:

  • incorporations of established sole proprietorships
  • shareholder agreements, buy-ins and buy-outs
  • asset or share purchases between trades companies
  • succession from a founding owner to family or employees
  • rebrands after a dispute over a business name

Here is what tends to go wrong when nobody looks at marketing during a transaction:

  1. The domain belongs to a former partner. Whoever registered it can usually redirect it.
  2. The Google Business Profile sits in one person's personal Google account, along with years of reviews.
  3. Ad accounts are billed to a personal credit card and hold the account history the buyer is paying for.
  4. The phone number customers know is on a personal mobile plan.
  5. The company name changes but the listings don't, so customers find the old name everywhere.

None of these is a legal question in itself, but each can become one. We help the owner find and list these assets, then market the business properly once ownership is settled. Our digital assets checklist for trades businesses is written so an owner can bring it to their lawyer.

What's included for your client

Your client gets a consultation, an inventory of their marketing assets and who controls them, and, if they want ongoing help, a plan on one of the published Trades.Agency plans. After a purchase, that often means merging two sets of listings and websites without losing the reviews and search visibility the buyer paid for.

If the client asks, we can send you the asset inventory so it can be considered in your work. What you do with it is your call entirely.

Timeline

  • Before closing: an asset inventory can usually be prepared within one to two weeks of the owner's first call.
  • At or after closing: transfers of listings and accounts happen once the owner confirms they have the authority to make them.
  • First 90 days after a change: rebrand or merge listings, update the website and start rebuilding search visibility under the new structure.

How results are measured

For transactions, the first measure is simple: every marketing asset is listed, controlled by the right party and working. After that we measure what we measure for any trades business: enquiries, booked jobs and cost per booked job, reported monthly in plain language through our advisor-ready reports if the client wants you copied.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Treating marketing assets as an afterthought until the week before closing.
  • Letting a departing partner keep sole control of the domain or the business profile.
  • Asking a marketer what a clause means. We won't answer, and you shouldn't want us to.
  • Changing the business name everywhere at once without a plan, which can scatter reviews and confuse search results.

To set up a referral route, or to ask how we'd handle a particular kind of file, call, text or email. The referral playbook explains consent and documentation in more depth.

Frequently asked questions

Will you review or comment on my client's agreements?

Never. We don't read agreements for meaning, suggest clauses or comment on what a contract allows. If a marketing question depends on what an agreement says, we ask the owner to put it to you.

What marketing problems come up in a business sale?

Usually control. The domain, Google Business Profile, ad accounts, social pages and the business phone number are often registered to one person's personal account. Our digital assets checklist lists them so the owner can bring the list to you.

Can lawyers in Ontario take part in referral arrangements?

That depends on your own professional obligations, which the Law Society of Ontario sets and you know better than we do. Our terms are written down before the first referral, so you can check them against your rules.

Do you work with paralegals?

Yes. Paralegals who help trades businesses with small-claims or collections matters sometimes see the same patterns. The same written terms and consent rules apply.