The firm that calls back first often gets the matter
A person who was just served divorce papers, arrested, hurt in a crash or named in a will dispute does not browse. They search “[practice area] lawyer” with their town, contact two or three firms, and talk to whoever calls back first and makes the next step clear. A firm with a better website but a two-day callback loses that person to a firm with a plain website and a same-hour callback.
So this chapter of our guide on how to get more clients starts with intake, not advertising. Then it covers practice-area pages, referral sources, directories and the advertising rules that apply to lawyers. It is general information, not legal advice.
Audit your intake before you buy anything
Most firms have never seen their own intake from the outside. Do it this week:
- Call the main number at 8:30 a.m., at lunch, at 5:30 p.m. and on a Saturday. Who answers? Does a caller reach a person, a voicemail or a full mailbox?
- Submit your own web form and time the reply. Note what the prospective client receives, and when.
- Count the steps from first contact to a booked consultation. Every extra handoff (“someone will call you to schedule”) loses people.
- Time the conflict check. If it takes two days, the consultation slot goes cold. Collect the opposing party’s name on the first contact so the check can start immediately.
Then set rules: every new inquiry answered or returned the same business day; a consultation offered on the first live contact; and a second attempt by text or email, where the person agreed to it, if the first call is not answered.
An intake assistant can cover evenings and lunch hours: it collects contact details and the information needed for a conflict check, answers questions about hours and consultation fees, books the consultation, and says it is an AI assistant. It gives no legal advice.
What prospective clients check
- That you handle their kind of matter. A page for each practice area, in the client’s words (“my ex stopped paying child support”), beats a list of legal terms.
- The attorney. A real bio for each lawyer: bar admissions, years in the practice area, languages, and a photo.
- Fees. What a consultation costs, how the firm bills (hourly, flat fee, contingency), and what the client pays for costs. Contingency arrangements need the terms written out.
- Reviews that name the attorney and describe how the firm communicated.
- Speed. Whether a consultation is possible this week.
Our law firm website design page shows how we structure practice-area pages and intake forms.
Referral sources, by practice area
| Practice area | Who sees the client first |
|---|---|
| Estate planning, probate | Financial planners, accountants, bank trust officers, elder care managers |
| Family law | Therapists, accountants, other lawyers who do not take family matters |
| Business law | Accountants, bankers, business brokers, insurance agents |
| Personal injury | Other lawyers, past clients, medical providers (careful: solicitation rules apply) |
| Immigration | Community organizations, employers, past clients |
| Real estate | Real estate agents, lenders, title companies |
Send each source a one-page summary of the matters you take and do not take, and how fast you respond. Refer out what you do not handle; it is the best reason for another lawyer to send work back. Any fee sharing or payment tied to referrals is restricted by your state’s rules, so check before money changes hands.
Profiles and directories
- Google Business Profile. Google’s guidelines name lawyers as individual practitioners: a public-facing attorney may have one profile of their own, a practitioner should not have several for different specialties, and support staff should not create profiles. Keep the firm profile as the main listing, with practice areas and the intake link.
- Google Local Services Ads for lawyers includes business owner identity verification and state bar license checks for each lawyer in the firm, with professional liability insurance where local law requires it.
- Legal directories such as Avvo, Justia, FindLaw and Martindale-Hubbell, if you use them. Keep name, address, phone and practice areas identical everywhere, and consistent with your bar listing.
Attorney advertising rules
Each state adopts its own rules of professional conduct, and the communications rules are usually numbered 7.1 to 7.3. As one example, the State Bar of Arizona summarizes its rules this way: statements about a lawyer’s services cannot be false or misleading, including by leaving out a needed fact; live person-to-person solicitation is generally not allowed, with exceptions; disclaimers on past results are recommended; results that could identify a former client need that client’s consent; and guaranteed results are prohibited.
Before you publish:
- Have someone check every claim of experience, results or specialty against your state’s rules. Some states restrict the word “specialist.”
- Do not promise outcomes: “we will win,” “maximum compensation guaranteed.”
- Spell out the terms behind “no fee unless we win,” including costs.
- Texts and calls to prospective clients need consent and a clear way to opt out, and solicitation rules may restrict contact.
- Keep copies of what you publish, in case your state requires it.
This is not legal advice. Ask your state bar’s ethics counsel when in doubt.
Your 30-day plan
Days 1-7: Intake. Run the four-step audit above. Fix the worst gap first, usually after-hours and lunch coverage or the callback time.
Days 8-14: Practice-area pages. Rewrite the page for your top practice area in the client’s words: common problems, usual steps, fees, what the consultation covers. Have an attorney check it against your advertising rules.
Days 15-21: Referral sources. Pick the row from the referral table that matches your top practice area. Send your one-page summary to five people in it, and offer a 15-minute call.
Days 22-30: Measure. Count inquiries, same-day responses, consultations and retained matters by practice area and source. The step where most inquiries stop is next month’s project.
What it costs with us
- A website: from $3,500 for 5-8 pages; extra practice-area pages are $250-$450 per page.
- An intake assistant for phone and web: setup from $900, then from $299/month (about 300 minutes).
- Missed-call text-back: setup from $500, then from $99/month.
Domain and hosting, new photography, third-party software subscriptions (billed at cost), SMS carrier registration and message fees, and AI usage above the plan allowance are not included. See pricing for the rest. To see how prospective clients find your firm today, request a free demo.
Published . Updated .