You spend thousands on marketing. The leads come in. Then what?

For most law firms, the answer is painful: phone tag, scattered paperwork, and prospects who hire your competitor while you're still waiting for a signed retainer.

The average law firm loses 8% of potential revenue due to inefficient intake processes. If your average fee is $10,000, that's $80,000 walking out the door for every 100 leads you generate. And the worst part? Most firms don't even realize it's happening.

Client intake is the bridge between marketing and revenue. It's where leads become clients—or disappear forever. This guide covers everything you need to build an intake system that converts more leads, reduces staff burden, and scales with your practice.

What Is Client Intake (And Why It Matters)

Client intake is the process of converting a lead into a paying client. It starts when someone first contacts your firm and ends when they've signed a retainer agreement, paid any required deposits, and provided the information you need to begin working on their case.

For most law firms, intake looks something like this:

Lead submits a contact form or calls the office
Staff qualifies the lead and schedules a consultation
Attorney conducts consultation
Staff sends retainer agreement for signature
Client returns signed agreement (hopefully)
Staff collects payment
Staff requests intake information
Client provides information (eventually)
Staff enters data into practice management system

Each step is a potential drop-off point. Each delay is a chance for the client to change their mind, call another firm, or simply forget. The more steps, the more friction. The more friction, the fewer signed clients.

Modern intake compresses these steps, eliminates redundancy, and removes barriers that cost you clients.

The Numbers That Matter: Intake Metrics

Before improving your intake process, you need to understand how to measure it. Here are the key performance indicators that matter:

Conversion Rate

Your conversion rate measures how many leads become paying clients. The formula is simple:

Conversion Rate = (Number of Signed Clients / Number of Leads) × 100

Industry benchmarks vary by practice area, but most law firms see conversion rates between 5% and 20%. Criminal defense and personal injury practices often convert at the higher end, while complex commercial matters may fall lower. A well-optimized intake process can push these numbers significantly higher.

Speed to Lead

How quickly do you respond to new inquiries? Research shows that responding within five minutes can increase your conversion rate by up to 300% compared to waiting just 30 minutes. The average law firm takes 42 hours to respond to a web form submission. That's not a typo—42 hours.

Personal injury firms lead in speed, converting leads to clients in an average of just three days. Bankruptcy and immigration practices average 16 days. Where does your firm fall?

Intake Completion Rate

Of the clients who start your intake process, how many finish? If you're sending separate links for signatures, payment, and information collection, you're creating multiple drop-off points. Track completion at each stage to identify where leads are falling out of your funnel.

Time to Signed Retainer

How long does it take from initial contact to signed retainer? Every day of delay is a day your potential client might hire someone else. The goal is same-day—or same-hour—when possible.

Cost Per Acquisition

Divide your total marketing and intake costs by the number of clients signed. This number tells you whether your intake process is efficient or whether leads are leaking out of an expensive funnel.

Anatomy of a Modern Intake Process

An effective intake process has four components that work together seamlessly:

1. Lead Capture

How do leads reach you? Website forms, phone calls, chat widgets, referrals, advertising platforms—each source requires a capture mechanism that feeds into your intake system. The key is ensuring no lead falls through the cracks and every inquiry receives an immediate response.

2. Qualification

Not every lead is a good fit. Qualification helps you identify high-value prospects and route them appropriately. This can happen through automated form questions, staff screening calls, or attorney consultations. The goal is to spend your time on leads most likely to convert.

3. Conversion

This is where the rubber meets the road. Conversion includes everything needed to turn a qualified lead into a paying client: the consultation, the retainer agreement, the signature, and the payment. The fewer obstacles here, the higher your conversion rate.

4. Onboarding

Once they've signed, you need their information. Case details, contact preferences, relevant documents, conflict check data—all of it flows into your practice management system and case file. Good onboarding sets the stage for a successful attorney-client relationship.

The best intake systems handle all four components in a single, unified flow.

Speed to Lead: Why Minutes Matter

The data on response time is unambiguous: faster is better, and the difference is measured in minutes, not hours.

Consider these findings:

28% of law firms now respond to online leads in under five minutes—up from 18% the previous year
35% respond within 10 minutes
Waiting just five minutes past the optimal response window results in a 10% drop in conversion
30% of consumers will immediately contact a competitor if they don't receive a response
Firms that respond within five minutes see conversion rates up to 300% higher than slower responders

Why does speed matter so much? Because potential clients are in decision-making mode. They're actively seeking help, often contacting multiple firms simultaneously. The firm that responds first captures their attention when they're most engaged and most likely to commit.

Implementing rapid response requires the right systems. Automated email responses provide immediate acknowledgment. SMS notifications alert your team to new leads. Dedicated intake staff or after-hours answering services ensure coverage. The investment pays for itself in converted clients.

Intake Forms That Convert

Your intake form is often a prospect's first interaction with your firm. It sets expectations for the entire relationship. A well-designed form builds confidence; a poor one creates doubt.

Essential Elements

Every intake form needs these basics:

Contact information: Name, phone, email—the minimum needed to follow up
Case type or practice area: For routing and qualification
Brief case description: Enough context to prepare for the conversation
Consent to contact: Legal compliance and clear expectations

Beyond the basics, customize for your practice. Personal injury firms need incident dates and injury details. Family law practices ask about children and marital status. Criminal defense needs charges and court dates. The right questions accelerate qualification without overwhelming prospects.

Form Design Best Practices

Keep it focused. Every field you add reduces completion rates. Ask only what you need to move forward. You can gather additional details later.

Use logical sections. Group related questions together. Progress indicators show how much remains. This reduces abandonment by setting clear expectations.

Mobile optimization is mandatory. In the legal industry, mobile drives seven times more traffic than desktop. If your form isn't mobile-friendly, you're losing the majority of your leads.

Match your brand. Your form should look like an extension of your firm, not a generic template. Custom colors, your logo, professional design—these details signal competence and attention to detail.

Reduce friction. Smart defaults, dropdown selections instead of free text where possible, clear error messages, and the ability to save progress all improve completion rates.

E-Signatures and Retainer Agreements

The retainer agreement is where deals die or close. Sending a PDF attachment and hoping for the best is a recipe for lost clients.

Why E-Signatures Matter

Electronic signatures eliminate the friction of printing, signing, scanning, and returning documents. They're legally binding under the ESIGN Act and UETA in all 50 states. They're faster, more convenient, and trackable.

More importantly, they can be embedded directly into your intake flow. Instead of sending a separate DocuSign link that the client might never open, the signature becomes part of the same process where they're providing their information and committing to hire you.

Retainer Agreement Best Practices

Keep it readable. Dense legal language intimidates clients. Plain language builds trust. You can include necessary legal terms without making the agreement impenetrable.

Pre-fill what you can. If you've already collected the client's name and contact information, don't make them enter it again. Every bit of friction you remove increases completion.

Highlight key terms. Required initials, signature blocks, and important dates should be clearly marked. Clients shouldn't have to search for where to sign.

Enable mobile signing. A signature captured on a phone screen is just as valid as one captured with a stylus. Don't force clients to find a computer.

Send automatic copies. Both you and the client should receive the signed document immediately. This creates a clear record and reinforces the commitment.

Payment Collection During Intake

Collecting payment during intake does two things: it removes a future friction point and it psychologically commits the client to moving forward. A client who has paid a retainer deposit is far less likely to back out than one who has only signed a document.

Payment Timing Options

Different firms handle payment timing differently:

Before signing: Ensures commitment before you invest time in the engagement. Can reduce tire-kickers but may feel aggressive for some practice areas.

After signing: The signature creates commitment; payment follows naturally. Most common approach for traditional retainer structures.

Optional during intake: Offers convenience while not requiring immediate payment. Good for practices where payment discussions happen during consultation.

The key is eliminating the need for a separate payment step later. When payment is integrated into your intake flow, it happens while the client is engaged and motivated.

Payment Methods

Accept credit cards at minimum—it's what clients expect. ACH bank transfers offer lower fees for larger retainers. Some firms offer payment plans through integrated financing options. The more flexibility you provide, the fewer clients you lose to payment friction.

The Unified Intake Flow

Here's the problem with traditional intake: you send three separate links, and you get three chances for the client to drop off.

DocuSign link for the retainer → They don't open it
Stripe link for payment → They forget
Google Form for intake information → They never complete it

Each link is a decision point. Each email is a chance to land in spam. Each delay is an opportunity for second thoughts.

The solution is unified intake: one link that handles everything. The client clicks once and completes a flow that includes signing their retainer, paying their deposit, and providing their case information. By the time they're done, they're fully onboarded—not waiting on follow-up emails and phone calls.

This approach works because it captures clients at their moment of highest motivation. They've decided to hire you. They're ready to move forward. Every separate step you introduce gives them time to reconsider, get distracted, or call another firm that makes things easier.

Unified intake typically increases conversion rates by 20-40% compared to fragmented processes. The exact numbers depend on your starting point, but the principle holds: fewer steps means more signed clients.

Intake by Practice Area

Different practice areas have different intake needs. What works for a personal injury firm may not work for an estate planning practice.

Personal Injury

Speed is critical—injured clients often contact multiple firms immediately after an accident. Intake should capture incident details, injury information, and insurance data. Medical authorizations and treatment history become important quickly. PI firms see the fastest lead-to-client conversion times in the industry: just three days on average.

Family Law

Emotional sensitivity matters. Intake forms should gather information about marriage, children, and the specific legal matter (divorce, custody, support) without feeling invasive. Urgency varies—some clients need immediate help with domestic violence situations; others are just beginning to explore options.

Criminal Defense

Time-sensitive by nature. Clients may be facing imminent court dates or active investigations. Intake should capture charge information, court dates, and whether they're currently in custody. 24/7 availability is often expected.

Estate Planning

Less urgent but more complex. Intake may need to gather information about assets, family structure, existing documents, and planning goals. The sales cycle is longer, so nurturing and follow-up become more important.

Immigration

Documentation-heavy and often time-sensitive due to visa deadlines or status issues. Intake should capture immigration history, current status, and case goals. Language accessibility may be important depending on your client base.

Staff-Assisted vs. Self-Service Intake

Not every client can or should complete intake independently. The best intake systems support both approaches.

Self-Service Intake

The client receives a link (via email or SMS), completes the entire process on their own device, and you receive a notification when they're done. This approach scales infinitely, works around the clock, and reduces staff workload.

Self-service works best for:

Tech-comfortable clients
Straightforward matters
After-hours inquiries
High-volume practices

Staff-Assisted Intake

A staff member walks the client through the intake process, often while on a phone call. They can answer questions, explain terms, and ensure completion. This approach provides a personal touch and handles clients who need more guidance.

Staff-assisted works best for:

Less tech-savvy clients
Complex matters requiring explanation
High-value cases worth the personal attention
Situations where building rapport matters

The ideal system lets staff initiate a session, share it with the client, and complete parts collaboratively. This hybrid approach captures the benefits of both methods.

Automating Your Intake Process

Automation eliminates manual work and ensures consistent follow-through. Here's what to automate:

Immediate Response

When a lead comes in, trigger an automatic acknowledgment. Email and SMS both work. The message should confirm receipt, set expectations for next steps, and provide a way to reach you urgently if needed.

Follow-Up Sequences

Not everyone completes intake immediately. Automated reminders nudge incomplete intakes without requiring staff attention. Space them appropriately—too frequent feels pushy; too sparse lets leads go cold.

Data Flow

When intake completes, the information should flow automatically to your practice management system, case management software, and anywhere else it's needed. No one should be manually copying data from one system to another.

Notifications

Alert the right people at the right times. New lead notifications, completion alerts, payment confirmations, signature notifications—each event can trigger appropriate action from your team.

Webhook Integrations

Modern intake platforms connect to tools like Zapier, Make.com, and n8n, allowing you to build custom automation workflows. When a client completes intake, you might automatically create a matter in Clio, add a contact to your email system, update a tracking spreadsheet, and notify your team via Slack—all without manual intervention.

Compliance and Security

Law firm intake involves sensitive information. Your systems must protect it.

HIPAA Considerations

Personal injury and medical malpractice practices often handle protected health information. If you're collecting medical records, treatment history, or health details, you need HIPAA-compliant systems. This affects your choice of intake software, storage, and data handling procedures.

Data Security Basics

Encryption in transit (HTTPS) and at rest protects data from interception and breach. Access controls ensure only authorized staff can view client information. Audit logs track who accessed what and when. These aren't optional features—they're baseline requirements.

E-Signature Compliance

The ESIGN Act and state UETA laws govern electronic signatures. Compliant e-signature systems maintain signature audit trails, capture signer identity verification, and produce tamper-evident documents. Consumer-grade solutions may not meet these standards.

Client Communication

SMS and email for intake communications should follow appropriate consent and disclosure practices. Inform clients about how you'll communicate and get consent where required.

Measuring Intake Success

You can't improve what you don't measure. Track these metrics consistently:

Weekly Metrics

Number of leads received by source
Response time (average and distribution)
Intake completion rate
Signed retainers

Monthly Metrics

Overall conversion rate
Conversion rate by source
Average time to signed retainer
Cost per signed client by channel

Quarterly Analysis

Trends in conversion rates
Drop-off points in the intake funnel
Staff performance comparisons
ROI by marketing channel

Your practice management system, intake software, and marketing tools should provide this data. If they don't, you're operating blind.

Common Intake Mistakes

Even well-intentioned firms make these errors:

Treating Internet Leads as Second-Class

Some firms assume online leads are lower quality than referrals. In reality, internet leads often have higher intent—they're actively searching for help. Dismissing them leaves money on the table.

Slow Response Times

Waiting hours or days to respond to inquiries. By then, the prospect has likely contacted other firms and may have already hired one.

Too Many Steps

Sending separate links for every action. Each additional step loses clients. Consolidate wherever possible.

No Follow-Up System

Relying on memory or manual processes to follow up with leads. Without automated systems, prospects fall through the cracks.

Ignoring Mobile Users

Forms and signing processes that don't work on phones. Mobile dominates legal search traffic—your intake must work on small screens.

Manual Data Entry

Having staff type intake information into practice management systems. This wastes time and introduces errors. Automate the data flow.

No Metrics

Operating without tracking conversion rates, response times, or drop-off points. You can't fix what you don't measure.

Your Next Steps

Improving your intake process doesn't require a complete overhaul. Start with these high-impact actions:

1. Measure your baseline. Track your current conversion rate, response time, and time to signed retainer. You need to know where you are before you can improve.

2. Fix your response time. Implement automated acknowledgments and alerts. Respond to every inquiry within five minutes during business hours. This single change can dramatically improve conversion.

3. Audit your process. Map every step from first contact to signed client. Identify where leads drop off. Look for steps that can be combined or eliminated.

4. Unify your intake flow. Stop sending multiple links. Give clients one link where they can sign, pay, and provide information in a single session.

5. Automate follow-up. Build sequences that nurture incomplete intakes. Don't rely on staff to remember who needs a reminder.

6. Track and iterate. Measure results after each change. Double down on what works. Fix what doesn't.

Client intake isn't glamorous, but it's where revenue is won or lost. The firms that treat it as a strategic priority—measuring, optimizing, and investing in better systems—convert more of the leads they're already paying to generate.

The leads are already coming. The question is whether your intake process captures them or lets them walk away.

Ready to see unified intake in action? intake.link combines e-signatures, payment collection, and intake forms in one link. Your clients complete everything before they call another firm.