What a slow reply costs a law firm
Legal enquiries are different from most leads. Each one can be worth thousands in fees, the person usually needs help soon, and they rarely contact just one firm. If your intake team calls back the next morning, the prospect may already have spoken to two other attorneys and booked a consultation with one of them.
Many firms don’t see this loss, because the enquiries that didn’t convert simply look like people who “weren’t serious”.
A worked example (use your own numbers):
- 10 web enquiries or calls a month get a reply hours later, or not at all
- 20% of them would have become signed clients with a faster first response
- Your average fee per matter is $3,500
10 × 20% × $3,500 = about $7,000 a month in fees going to other firms. That’s an illustration, not a benchmark. Plug in your own matter value and conversion rate in the Lead Leak Calculator.
Where firms lose potential clients
The evening accident call
Someone injured in a car accident calls at 7pm. The office is closed. They fill in forms on three firm websites and sign with whoever calls first.
The attorney in court
In a small firm, the attorney is in a hearing all morning. Three calls go to voicemail. Two of those callers never call back.
The consultation that never got booked
A family law enquiry asked about fees, got a long email back two days later, and went quiet. Nobody followed up, so the case went elsewhere.
How the 60-second intake works
- 0s · An enquiry arrives: website form, ad form, or a call nobody could take
- Under 60s · A professional text and email go out in your firm's name
- Intake basics · It asks the practice area, the rough situation and the best time to talk
- Booked · It offers consultation times from your calendar, or routes it to intake staff
- 14-day follow-up · No reply? Gentle reminders until they book or opt out
The AI is set up to be careful. It doesn’t give legal advice, doesn’t comment on the strength of a case, and says clearly that no attorney-client relationship exists until the firm confirms it. It collects only the information you choose, and anything that looks urgent or sensitive goes straight to a person.
Works with your case management software
Many firms use tools like Clio, MyCase, Lawmatics or PracticePanther for intake and matters. Where your software has an API or an integration, new enquiries and booked consultations can flow straight into it, so your team doesn’t retype anything. If it doesn’t, the system books into your consultation calendar and sends your team a clean summary by email.
Your firm still runs conflict checks and decides which matters to take on. The system just makes sure no enquiry waits hours for a first reply.
Questions law firms ask
It’s set up not to. It works from a script you approve, avoids opinions on cases, and hands any legal question to your team. Every conversation is logged so you can review it.
The system only collects what you ask it to, usually contact details, practice area and a short description. Data stays in your own accounts. We agree what is stored, and for how long, before launch.
Yes. It can ask which area the enquiry is about, such as personal injury, family or immigration, and route each one to the right attorney or calendar.
Where your case management software offers an integration or API, enquiries can be sent straight into it. We confirm what’s possible with your setup on the first call.
Yes. The tone is calm and professional, not salesy. You approve every message template before it goes live.
Experience your intake from the client's side
Try the demo as if you were a potential client and time the reply. Then book a free call and we’ll design an intake flow for your firm.