How fast should a law firm respond to a new lead?
By the Margin Media team · Updated
A law firm should respond to a new lead while the person is still looking, which means within minutes, not hours. Someone who needs a lawyer contacts several firms in one sitting and tends to go with the first that speaks to them. A reply the next morning usually reaches someone who has already booked elsewhere.
Why does speed matter so much for a law firm?
It matters because the person is not shopping at leisure. Something has happened, they are worried, and they want to hear a voice that takes it seriously. They cannot easily judge one firm's skill against another's from a website, so the firm that answers and offers a time to talk feels like the firm that will look after them.
What slows a law firm's response down?
It is rarely laziness. It is the way the work arrives: in bursts, at bad hours, to people who are doing something else. These are the usual causes.
- Web forms that go to a shared inbox with no owner.
- Voicemails collected once in the morning and once after lunch.
- An intake person who also handles reception, filing and existing clients.
- A rule that only an attorney may return new enquiries.
- Evening and weekend enquiries that wait for Monday.
What is a sensible standard to hold?
Set a standard for each route. A phone call should be answered live, by someone or something that can offer a consultation time. A missed call should get a text within a minute or so. A web form in office hours should get a call within the hour.
A form sent at night should at least get an immediate reply saying it was received and offering a time. Then measure it: note when each enquiry arrived and when it was first answered.
How does Margin speed up response for a law firm?
Margin puts Mia, the AI receptionist, on the line so a call is answered as it rings, day or night. A caller your team misses is texted back within a minute from the firm's own texting number, and anyone who doesn't book is followed up by text. Texting starts only once phone carriers approve the number. The portal shows who is waiting for a call from your team, and since when.
What Margin sets up for this.
- Mia, the AI receptionist, on every call
- Missed calls texted back within a minute
- Follow-up until they book or say no
- Your portal: every call, text and booking
What a business needs is decided on its audit. It is a one-time setup fee and a monthly fee, with exact numbers on the audit.
How Margin works for law firmsSee the portal with a sample business
Related questions
Is a same-day call back fast enough for a law firm?
It is better than next day, but it still loses people. A person who contacts a law firm at ten and hears back at four has had six hours to reach another firm. Same day is a floor, not a target.
Does a fast reply matter if the law firm is the best in town?
Yes. A new caller cannot see that a law firm is the best in town. They can see who answered. Reputation helps a firm get the call, and speed decides whether the call becomes a consultation.
Should a paralegal or an attorney make the first reply at a law firm?
Whoever can do it fastest. The first reply from a law firm only needs to acknowledge the person, take their details and offer a time with an attorney. Saving every first contact for an attorney is what makes firms slow.