Simplify Your Lead Screening with Legal Intake Software

How much time do you spend screening potential leads? Chances are good it’s a considerable amount, and every minute you spend on non-billable time is essentially money lost. 

Lead screening is vital. It’s an important tool to help winnow out clients that might not fit with your firm, as well as to help identify potential conflicts of interest, build an accurate picture of the client’s situation, and more. 

The good news is that legal intake software can help simplify and streamline your lead screening process. Ready to learn how the right legal intake tool can transform your practice? We’ll discuss what you need to know below.

What is legal intake software?

Legal intake software is designed to help law firms and attorneys save time without sacrificing the intake process. It automates multiple steps, allowing you and your team to do what you do best while still gathering information about potential new clients, organizing that data, and entering it into your CMS.

What can legal intake software do?

You’ll find a wide range of legal intake software options on the market, from dedicated intake apps to more all-encompassing software suites that offer legal intake capabilities along with other features. If you’re new to the realm of intake software, here are a few of the most mission-critical things it can do to help your practice.

1. Making organization easy 

One of the most critical things to look for when choosing between the various legal intake software options is how well it allows you to organize your leads. Most of them provide at least some organization functionality, but they vary from platform to platform. 

The right option for you will let you organize and access client information through a single dashboard, which eliminates time wasted looking for a prospective client’s contact information or case details. Of course, it’s essential that this information is captured and recorded in the first place, so it pays to have access to an experienced virtual receptionist.

2. Improving data accuracy

Let’s face it. Jotting down a potential client’s name, phone number, email, and case details on a legal pad isn’t the best way to ensure accuracy. Questionable legibility is just one problem. How many times have those handwritten notes disappeared entirely? The right legal intake software makes collecting that information easy, ensures that it’s stored securely in your CMS, and helps improve its accuracy dramatically. 

Accurate data is essential in several ways. It means that your team has the information available to call a potential client back. It also gives you access to how a client discovered your law firm and is key to deep dives into case evaluations. 

The right software doesn’t just prompt your team to record vital details. It also helps prevent incomplete phone numbers, missing names, and other inaccuracies or incomplete entries. In turn, that reduces the time spent trying to find correct data and removes hurdles in the communication process.

3. Simplifying client follow-up

Follow-up is critical when you find a potential client who’s a good fit for your firm. However, many law firms fail here. According to information published by the Wyoming State Bar, over half of all law firms never follow up with leads. 

Of course, there are many reasons for that shocking number. In some cases, the team couldn’t find the client’s contact information. In others, the client simply fell through the cracks. Some offices don’t have clear-cut rules dictating who follows up with potential clients or when that should occur. 

With the right legal intake software, that doesn’t need to happen. All of a potential client’s contact information is front and center. What’s more, you can easily tell when a potential client contacted your firm, whether follow-up has been done, set prompts that tell your team it’s time to contact a potential client, and more.

Of course, many of these steps can also be automated with the right partner. At Smith.ai, our virtual receptionists can handle tasks like setting appointments, client follow-up, and more so that your team can focus on billable hours while we help you build a successful practice.

4. Taking deeper dives into data

Information is the most valuable commodity today. That’s why hackers tend to target databases – the information stored in them is incredibly valuable. The same is true for the data that your law firm stores. The challenge is getting at the data and putting it to use. This is another area where legal intake software can help.

With the right tool, you can:

• Identify when, where, and how a potential client discovered your firm and then use that information in your marketing efforts.
• Identify which team members have the best conversion and retention rates and improve your overall intake process.
• Identify key pain points of potential clients so you can quickly determine if your firm can help them.

Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists accelerate intake and client communication

As you can see, the right legal intake software is a critical tool for any law firm. However, implementing that software doesn’t automatically translate to saved time or avoided hassles. You still need your team to work with the software, contact clients, input potential client information, and more. 

At Smith.ai, our virtual receptionists have deep experience working with law firms and solo practices. We understand how critical that first impression is, as well as how important it is that key information is captured during the initial contact with a potential client. Smith.ai also plays well with others. LawTap, ClientRock, Clio, Lawmatics, and PracticePanther are just a few of the practice management and legal intake platforms we integrate with.

We don’t stop at legal intake, either. From appointment scheduling to live chat, 24/7 answering service, and even outreach campaign support, we help you build a thriving practice while ensuring that you always put your best foot forward with potential clients.

To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to hello@smith.ai.

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