Should A Law Firm Script Their Client Intake Process?

Is your law firm fully prepared to capture new business? Is your entire phone answering staff ready to make a great first impression on a potential client calling in for the first time? These are questions attorneys need to be asking themselves these days so that they avoid falling behind their competition.

In order to consistently capture new leads in the 2020s, your firm must not only be available to answer calls 24/7, but have a gameplan for getting new leads started with your practice. Everyone answering phone calls on behalf of your firm needs to know how to appropriately handle requests from new prospects. They need to know what to say and what information to collect from the caller. This is why having your law firm script out its legal intake process is an absolute must.

Below, we’ll tell you how to create an easy to follow client intake form for your practice, and later on, we’ll clue you in on where to get some great additional lead capturing help.

Starting With The Basics

If you don’t know where to begin with the scripting of your client intake form, we recommend starting by listing out the important question you would ask of any new client.

• May I have your first and last name?
• May I have a good call back number?
• May I have your email address?
• May I ask your reason for calling?

Getting a caller’s contact information right away is always a must, so that you can immediately call them back in the event that the call gets disconnected. You also want to avoid the awkwardness of having to ask someone for their name, phone number and email halfway through a conversation. Getting the basic information about why a person is reaching out to your firm is also important to do early on in the call, as it will tell you what questions to ask next.

Collecting Essential Case Information

When scripting out your client intake process, you never want to take a one script fits all approach. If your firm handles several different types of legal problems, you’ll want to create specific sets of questions for every one of those problems. This may sound a bit excessive, but keep in mind that it will only take you a few hours to create these scripts, and the scripts will be used by your employees every day for several years to come. Going above and beyond with your planning now, can help your practice secure countless new clients in the future.

Let’s say you’re a traffic ticket lawyer, and you specialize in handling both speeding tickets and DWIs. In this case, your client intake script may look something like this.

Example Of Client Intake Script For Traffic Ticket Lawyer:

• May I have your first and last name?
• May I have a good call back number?
• May I have your email address?
• May I ask your reason for calling?

If the caller says that they have received a speeding ticket, ask them:

• When and where did you receive the ticket?
• What speed were you clocked at and what was the speed limit?
• Why do you feel the ticket you were given is unjust?
• What would you like us to help you accomplish?

If the caller says that they have been arrested for driving while impaired, ask them:

• When and where did the arrest occur?
• Did you take a field sobriety test?
• Is this your first time being arrested for a DWI or DUI?
• Where are you currently being held?

Asking specific questions of your prospects in an organized manner will let them know that your firm is highly prepared to manage their case and is ready to get started with the handling of their legal issues right away. It is important to inspire confidence in your new leads right from their very first phone call, so that they don’t feel compelled to shop around with your competitors after hanging up with your office.

Executing The Intake Process

After you’re finished having your law firm script out its intake process, you’ll want to make sure that script gets in the hands of anyone who might be answering client calls. This includes your receptionists, associates and even fellow lawyers. If possible, have your phone answering staff practice going through your client intake script. Role playing lead capturing situations with your staff can help them become more mentally prepared to handle actual calls with prospective clients, and will keep them from making costly mistakes during the process.

If you’re like most law offices, you probably won’t be able to provide legal intake services 24/7, largely because you don’t have staff answering calls around the clock. To keep new client opportunities from passing your firm by, you’ll want to invest in Answering Legal. We not only provide 24/7 live phone answering coverage, but all of our virtual receptionists have been extensively trained on performing the legal intake process. Our receptionists can even ask customized new client intake questions. All of the information collected by our receptionists during the intake process gets sent to you via text and email message after the call concludes.

Learn more about the benefits of using legal intake professionals here.

Ready to see Answering Legal in action for yourself? Get started with a 7-day free trial here or call us with any questions at (631)686-9700.