Law Firm Intake: Speed to Lead and Call Handling
Most firms judge marketing by the number of enquiries. The number that matters is how many of those enquiries become consultations and then retained matters. That conversion happens at intake, and it is usually where the easiest gains are.
What is legal intake, and why does it decide marketing results?
Legal intake is everything that happens between a first contact and a signed retainer: answering the call or form, screening for fit, running the conflict check, booking a consultation and sending the engagement letter. Two firms with identical ads can get very different results because one answers in ten minutes and the other answers the next day.
ShoutEx view: before a firm raises its ad budget, it should know how many enquiries it already loses at intake.
| Intake stage | What happens | Where firms lose people |
|---|---|---|
| First contact | Call, web form, chat, email or a walk-in | Voicemail, slow replies, forms nobody reads |
| Screening | Practice area, location, urgency, fit | No clear rule for who the firm takes |
| Conflict check | Names of all parties checked against firm records | Check done after details were already taken |
| Consultation booking | A time, a fee if any, what to bring | Back-and-forth email instead of a booked slot |
| Retainer | Engagement letter, deposit, file opened | Letter sent days later, client signs elsewhere |
The consultation booking page covers the booking step in detail, and the call and intake tracking page covers how to connect intake outcomes back to ads.
How fast should a law firm respond to a new enquiry?
Respond within the hour during business hours, and answer calls live whenever ads are running. Research published in Harvard Business Review found that companies contacting online leads within an hour were far more likely to qualify them than companies that waited longer.
That study covered sales leads in general, not legal clients. Still, the pattern fits legal work closely: someone facing a separation, a charge or a dismissal often contacts three firms in an evening and goes with the first one that calls back with a clear next step.
| Time after enquiry | Action | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 2 minutes | Automatic reply: received, phone number, when to expect a call | Website form or intake software |
| Within 15 minutes | First call attempt; short voicemail if no answer, only if the person allowed it | Intake coordinator |
| Within 1 hour | Second attempt by the channel the person chose | Intake coordinator |
| Same day | Conflict check run and consultation offered | Coordinator, then lawyer |
| Next business day | Final follow-up, then close the enquiry as unreached | Intake coordinator |
Urgent practice areas need a faster version of this routine. The criminal defence page covers after-hours calls from families, and the family law page covers safe contact when someone may be at risk.
How should a law firm handle phone enquiries?
Answer live, take the basic facts needed for a conflict check, and offer a specific consultation time before the call ends. Calls are where many legal clients decide, so the person answering needs a short script and authority to book.
If you advertise on Google, call assets add a phone number or call button to search ads. Google says the number must appear on your website or your domain must be verified, call reporting with Google forwarding numbers shows which ads produced calls, and the asset can be scheduled to show only during business hours. That last setting is the simplest way to stop paying for calls nobody can answer.
- Answer with the firm name and your first name.
- Ask what kind of legal problem it is and where the person lives, so you know it is a matter the firm takes.
- Ask for the names of the other people involved and say you need them for a conflict check before discussing details.
- Ask if there is a deadline: a court date, a closing date, a limitation the person has been told about, a hearing.
- Offer two consultation times and explain any consultation fee in plain words.
- Confirm how the person prefers to be contacted, and whether it is safe to leave messages.
- Record the source: how they found the firm, using the same short list every time.
After hours, either route calls to an answering service trained on this script or let voicemail say when the office opens and what to do in an emergency. Never promise a call back the firm cannot make.
What should a law firm intake process include?
A good intake process is written down, short and the same for every enquiry. It should take a person from first contact to a booked consultation in one or two touches, with the conflict check done before the lawyer hears the story.
Most firms can run it with their practice management software and a single intake form. What matters is that every enquiry gets a record, an owner and an outcome, including the ones the firm declines.
| Ask in the first form or call | Leave for after the conflict check |
|---|---|
| Name, phone, email, preferred contact method | A detailed account of what happened |
| Type of legal problem, from a short list | Documents, screenshots or recordings |
| Names of the other parties | Financial details and account numbers |
| City or region, and any deadline | Opinions about the other side |
| How they heard about the firm | Anything the person would not want the other side to read |
- Declined enquiries: send a short note saying the firm cannot help and, where you can, point to the law society's referral service or directory.
- Wrong practice area: keep a list of trusted referral firms for the matters you do not take.
- Website forms: keep them short; the law firm website guide covers form design and placement.
Pay for answered calls, not for ringing phones.
If nobody can pick up, pause the call ads. Every unanswered call from a paid ad is spend that produced nothing, and the person calling often had a serious problem that day.
Can a law firm follow up by email or text after an enquiry?
Yes, within the limits of Canada's anti-spam law. The CRTC's CASL guidance says an inquiry creates implied consent for six months, and an existing business relationship after a purchase creates implied consent for two years. Commercial messages must identify the sender, include an easy unsubscribe, and unsubscribe requests must be processed within 10 business days.
Replying to the person's own question is ordinary client service. Adding them to a newsletter or a marketing sequence is a commercial message and needs consent that is still valid.
| Situation | Consent basis | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Person sent an enquiry, did not retain | Implied, from the inquiry | 6 months |
| Former client after a paid matter | Implied, existing business relationship | 2 years after the purchase |
| Newsletter sign-up on the website | Express consent | Until withdrawn |
| Bought or scraped list | None | Do not send |
Keep confidentiality in mind as well. A follow-up email that names the matter, the other party or the charge can be read by someone else in the household. Generic subject lines are safer.
What intake numbers should a law firm track?
Track enquiries, conflict-cleared enquiries, consultations booked, consultations held and retainers signed, by source, every month. Those five numbers show whether a problem sits in the marketing or in the intake.
| Source | Enquiries | Consults held | Retained | Retained share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | 38 | 17 | 9 | 35% |
| Google Ads | 29 | 11 | 6 | 23% |
| Referral from a client or lawyer | 12 | 9 | 7 | 27% |
| Organic search (website) | 14 | 6 | 3 | 12% |
| Directories and other | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4% |
| Total | 99 | 45 | 26 | 100% |
- Missed call rate: calls not answered live while ads were running.
- Median response time: minutes from web form to first call attempt.
- Consult show rate: consultations held divided by consultations booked.
- Retain rate by lawyer and by source: where the best matters come from.
- Province-specific limits on what intake staff may say are summarized on marketing rules by province.
Frequently asked questions
What is speed to lead for a law firm?
The time between a new enquiry and the firm's first real response. Shorter is better: research in Harvard Business Review found leads contacted within an hour were far more likely to qualify.
Should a law firm use an answering service?
If calls arrive when nobody can answer, yes, as long as the service follows your intake script, takes conflict names and does not give legal advice.
When should a firm run a conflict check?
Before the lawyer hears the details of the matter. Take the names of the parties first, run the check, then book the consultation.
What should a law firm intake form ask?
Name, contact details, preferred contact method, type of legal problem, names of other parties, location, any deadline and how they found the firm. Leave detailed facts for later.
Can I email someone who enquired but did not retain the firm?
Under CASL an inquiry gives implied consent for six months. Include sender details and an easy unsubscribe, and stop when asked.
How do I know if marketing or intake is the problem?
Compare enquiries with consultations held and retainers signed by source. Plenty of enquiries with few consultations points to intake; few enquiries points to marketing.
Should intake staff quote fees?
They can explain the consultation fee and any published flat fees. Quotes for the matter itself should come from the lawyer after the consultation.
Is it safe to leave voicemail for a new enquiry?
Ask first. In family, criminal and employment matters, a message heard by the wrong person can cause harm. Record the preferred contact method on every enquiry.
Sources & further reading
Regulator rules, platform policies and local data change. These sources let you check the facts on this page, last checked October 6, 2026.