Intake automation for law firms that sign more cases

Every inquiry answered, sorted by case type and routed to the right attorney, with follow-up until the engagement letter is signed.

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Tell me the task that eats your week. A written first plan in 2 business days.

A car accident inquiry at 11:40 PM on a Saturday

1The form arrives from your personal injury page
2The person gets a reply in a minute with three questions about the accident
3Their answers mark it as a likely case and flag it for the intake team
4On Sunday morning a consult is booked and the attorney is notified
5After the consult, follow-ups run until the engagement letter is signed

Sample workflow

Where law firms lose time and customers

Inquiries after hours and on weekends

Accidents and arrests don’t happen during office hours. CallRail’s 2025 benchmark found legal businesses miss 28% of calls, and research published in Harvard Business Review found that leads contacted within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify as those contacted an hour later.

Intake that sorts by hand

New cases, existing clients, wrong practice areas and vendors all arrive in the same inbox and phone line. Someone reads each one and decides where it goes, and the good cases wait in line with the rest.

Consultations that don’t become retainers

The consult happens, the person says they will think about it, and nobody follows up in a structured way. Every unsigned consult was paid for twice: once in advertising and once in attorney time.

Data typed twice

Intake details are written in a form or notes, then entered again in the case management system when the matter opens. Retyping costs time and creates the errors that slow conflict checks.

What missed calls cost law firms

An example with round numbers, not a client. The missed call rate comes from CallRail’s 2025 benchmark for legal. Put in your own numbers in the missed call calculator.

Revenue that goes to someone else each month

$24,267

Calls a week: 40
Missed: 28%
Missed calls a month: 49
Callers who would have bought: 10%
At an average fee per signed case of: $5,000
A year: $291,200

What I set up

Fixed price, agreed before work starts. You own the accounts, the setup and the data.

After-hours replies with intake questions that change by case type
Routing by practice area and location to the right attorney or intake person
Consult scheduling with reminders, and a conflict check step before it is booked
Follow-up after the consult until the engagement letter is signed, with e-signature
New matters created in your case management tool from the intake, without retyping
Signed cases sent back to Google Ads, so the ads learn which inquiries become clients

The workflows, step by step

Sample messages with made-up names. Yours are written in your voice, and your team approves every one before it goes live.

After-hours intake

Starts when: a form or call arrives outside office hours

Within 1 minute
A reply with questions that change by case type
Sample text message: Thank you for contacting Rivera Law. So we can help quickly: when did the accident happen, and were you injured? Someone from our team will call you first thing tomorrow.
On reply
Answers are saved to the intake record and the inquiry is flagged by practice area and urgency
Next morning
The intake team starts the day with a sorted list instead of a voicemail box

From consult to signed engagement

Starts when: a consultation is booked

Before booking
A conflict check step in your case management tool
1 day before
A reminder with what to bring and how to join
After the consult
The engagement letter sent for e-signature
Day 2 and day 5 if unsigned
A short follow-up from the attorney’s name, then a call task

Intake to matter, without retyping

Starts when: the engagement letter is signed

On signature
The new matter and contact are created in your case management tool from the intake record
Same day
A welcome message with next steps and who to contact
Same day
The signed case is reported back to Google Ads as a conversion, with no case details

What I measure

Missed calls and after-hours inquiries: How many new matters arrive when no one is at the desk.
Time to first contact: Measured for every inquiry, by practice area.
Consult to signed rate: By attorney and practice area, so follow-up improvements show up in numbers.
Cost per signed case from ads: The number that decides how much each practice area can spend.

How the first month goes

Week 1I look at how leads arrive and get answered today, what your software already does and where the gaps are.
Week 2The first workflow goes live, usually the instant reply to missed calls and new leads, because it pays back fastest.
Week 3Follow-ups and reminders, written with your team and tested on real leads before they run on their own.
Week 4Reporting: reply times, show rates and close rates you can check any day, plus a review of what to change.

Rules for texting customers

Business texting in the US requires carrier registration, called A2P 10DLC. Unregistered numbers get filtered or blocked.
Forms ask for consent to receive texts, in plain words, and keep a record of it.
Every sequence honors STOP immediately and stops the moment a customer replies.
Automated messages go out between 8 AM and 8 PM local time. Florida limits sales calls to those hours, and I use the same window for texts as a safe default.
No sensitive details in texts: no health information, no case facts, no payment data.

Mistakes I see most

Automated messages that sound like advice

An automatic reply should gather facts and set expectations, never comment on the merits of a case. The firm approves every template.

Intake data typed twice

When intake lives in a form and the matter is opened by hand, details get lost and conflict checks slow down. One record should flow into the other.

Unsigned consults left alone

People often need a nudge to sign after the consult. Without structured follow-up, a share of paid consults goes to another firm.

Built on the tools you already use

Clio
Lawmatics
MyCase
Filevine
Smokeball
CallRail

If your software already does part of this, I set that up first and build only what is missing. What can be connected depends on the tool and your plan with it, so the free review checks it before any price. Names are trademarks of their owners, listed only as tools owners commonly use.

Want more inquiries worth answering? I also run Google Ads and Local Services Ads for law firms.

See ads for law firms

Questions owners ask

Does this replace our intake team?

No. It makes sure no inquiry waits for them. The automation answers, asks the first questions, sorts and schedules, and your intake team spends its time on the conversations that decide whether a case is signed.

Are automated replies allowed under bar rules?

Replying to someone who contacted your firm is treated differently from reaching out to people who did not, but the rules vary by state. Messages avoid legal advice and promises about outcomes, and the firm approves every template before it goes live.

What about confidentiality?

Inquiry details stay in your systems. The ad platforms only receive the minimum needed to learn that an inquiry became a client, never details about the case.

Does it work with Clio or our case management tool?

Usually, yes. Most case management and intake tools allow new matters and contacts to be created from outside, which is what removes the retyping. The free review checks what your tool and plan allow before I promise anything.

How long does setup take?

One workflow, like missed call replies and estimate follow-up, usually takes 1 to 2 weeks. A complete path from new lead to paid invoice usually takes 2 to 6 weeks. You see working pieces along the way.

What does it cost?

Each project gets a fixed price in a written proposal, agreed before work starts. The free automation review gives you a written first plan and a price range within 2 business days. An optional monthly plan covers hosting, monitoring and changes.

Automation for:HVAC companies Plumbing companies Roofing companies Med spas Guide: why ad leads don’t turn into customers Calculator: what missed calls cost you

Updated October 21, 2026 by Leo Agostini. Sources:

Leo AgostiniFounder, Cazullo

Building business software since 2022, after 13 years in marketing. You work directly with me, and I personally review and validate the work before delivery.

More about me

Get a free automation review

Tell me about your business and the task that eats your week. Within 2 business days you get a written first plan: what to automate first and a price range. No call required for that; bigger systems get their full scope after a short conversation.

Prefer to talk now? Call (424) 340-4151, or write to leo@cazullo.com.