As the voice you are going to hear when you call our firm, I never know who will be on the other end of the phone – telemarketers, the Court, an adversary, a client. But perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of answering the phone is never knowing which call you are receiving that will be the very first call from a perspective client.
I stumbled upon an interesting quote describing of one of the most critical parts of the infancy stages of an attorney-client relationship, also known as the intake process.
‘Legal intake is the process of converting contacts into clients.’
A single, preliminary interaction could determine whether a contact becomes a client. That’s a lot of pressure!
According to a study done a few years back by the American Bar Association and published in Law Technology Today,
· Less than 10% of prospective clients actually speak with a lawyer.
· 42% of the time, law firms take three or more days to reply to a voicemail or web generated form fill from a prospective client.
· 3% of callers gave up before the phone was even answered and 11% of calls lasted less than 10 seconds—most likely prospective clients frustrated by their inability to reach a person.
While we can agree with the first statistic because those prospective clients are usually speaking with me first, waiting 3 or more days for a return call or waiting on the line for an extended period can be extremely anxiety-provoking for someone who is in need of legal assistance.
HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?
While sometimes I feel like this initial call is a pseudo interrogation, I want to ensure that I have as much background information as possible. And not just your first and last name, email address, and cellphone number!
People contact our firm requesting representation for an array of reasons – a real estate transaction, a property dispute, a question about their employee agreement, or a contract dispute – to name a few. For each of those reasons, and the multitude of others that someone may contact a law firm for, it is so important to ask the right questions from the get-go.
The more information I can gather from this initial call, the better. After all, from this information, I can determine if this potential new client will be referred to either Laura or Amy or both for an initial consultation based on their areas of expertise.
ONLINE SEARCH v. REFERRALS
We are always curious to hear how our clients found us. Most are return clients, others are referrals from other legal colleagues, friends, or family, and others stumble across our firm online. I always like to ask how a prospective client found our firm because it’s these analytics that help us to determine future marketing campaigns or who we should be reaching out to to thank for the referral!
ARE YOU GETTING ALL THAT?
During the intake process, I tend to get a lot of “I’m sorry, am I talking too fast?” or “I’m sorry, I just gave you a lot of information”. No worries! While you are speaking, I’m filling out our standard intake form with everything you are saying! We created this form for that very reason – so that all the information from that initial call is housed in one place and can be typed as we speak!
And while the information that I will ask for a real estate transaction, such as whether you’re purchasing or selling, where the property is located or if you are pre-approved for financing is completely different than a contract dispute where I may ask, in greater detail, about the case, the names of the parties involved, if an action has been filed yet, copies of all relevant documents, and any upcoming Court dates, this form captures it all. Even after the initial call, I will often use either the local county clerk’s website or the New York Court State Electronic Filing system to gather even more details. This is, again, super critical to all the steps, including a conflict check, we then must take to ensure that we are able to represent a particular client.
Whether you are a first-time caller or a returning client, I hope you have a better understanding of all that goes on between that first call and when an initial consultation is scheduled. The more information we gather upfront, the quicker we can assist you with your legal needs!