A firm with twenty fee earners has a two-person intake team. They run the switchboard, the shared inbox and website enquiries, gather details, request conflict checks and route new matters. They are good at it. They are also overwhelmed.
This is a typical week before and after automating first contact for website enquiries.
Before: Monday
The team starts with forty website enquiries from the weekend. Half are missing basic details: no practice area, no other party's name, sometimes no phone number. The team spends the morning replying to ask for them.
Before: Tuesday
Replies trickle in. Some people do not reply at all. Several enquiries turn out to be for practice areas the firm does not cover. The team has spent time on each.
Before: Wednesday
A prospective client calls to ask why nobody has contacted them about their Saturday enquiry. It was one of the ones missing a phone number, and the email reply went to spam.
Before: Thursday
The team answers the same questions by email and phone repeatedly: fees, office locations, whether the first meeting is free, how long things take.
Counting the cost
Across the week, the team spends many hours chasing missing details and answering repeat questions. Some enquiries are lost. New matters start later than they should.
After: Monday
The firm adds a website assistant. SpideyChat for law firms answers routine questions from the firm's own pages and captures each enquiry with the practice area, a short summary, deadlines, the other party's name and contact details. It does not give advice. The capture options are described on the forms page.
On Monday morning, the weekend's website enquiries are complete. Those outside the firm's areas were told politely and given suggestions. The rest are ready for conflict checks.
After: Tuesday
Conflict checks run on Monday. Consultations are arranged by Tuesday. Nobody had to chase.
After: Wednesday
No calls asking about lost enquiries. Every one was captured with the right contact details.
After: Thursday
Fees, locations and process questions were answered on the website. The team spends the time on calls with prospective clients who need a personal conversation.
After: Friday
On Friday afternoon, the intake lead looks at the week's figures for the first time without having to count by hand. Website enquiries are grouped by practice area, and it is clear that wills enquiries doubled after a local newspaper feature. The lead passes that to the private client partner, who adds an extra appointment slot the following week.
What does not change
The team still runs the switchboard, still makes judgements about routing and still gives every prospective client a personal welcome. The assistant handles the website's first contact.
Lessons from other front desks
The same shift happens at gym front desks, as described in a gym front desk week before and after automation. The principles of good intake are covered in qualifying legal enquiries without giving advice, and form design in intake forms that put off potential clients.
Seeing it for yourself
Pick one practice area and run the assistant on its pages for a month. Compare how many enquiries arrived complete, and how quickly consultations were arranged, with the month before. See the details on the features page, or try SpideyChat on your own site.
More on how firms use an assistant is in AI receptionist for law firms.