A firm has four offices. The family team in one office uses a detailed form. Another office relies on a general inbox. A third has a receptionist who takes notes by hand. A prospective client emails the wrong office about an employment matter, and it sits there for a week because nobody is sure whose it is.
Multi-office firms often have as many intake processes as they have offices. Redesigning intake around one process fixes a lot.
The problems with inconsistent intake
- Enquiries are captured with different levels of detail
- Some enquiries go to the wrong office and wait
- Conflict checks are harder when details are missing
- Clients have different experiences depending on which office they contact
- Management cannot see how many enquiries the firm receives or how quickly they are answered
Estate agencies with multiple branches face the same issues, as covered in multi-branch agencies and consistent enquiry handling.
A redesigned process
1. One intake standard. Agree the questions every enquiry should answer, across every office: practice area, short summary, deadlines, other party's name, preferred office and contact details. The essentials are covered in qualifying legal enquiries without giving advice.
2. Route by practice area first. Most firms organise expertise by practice area. Route enquiries to the right team, then to the right office within that team.
3. Respect location preferences. Some clients want to meet at a particular office. Capture their preference and route accordingly.
4. Clear ownership. Each team should have a named person responsible for picking up new enquiries.
5. Consistent response targets. Set the same response target across offices, and track it.
6. One view for management. Collect enquiries in one place, so the firm can see volume, response times and outcomes across offices.
Removing the barriers
Long forms put off clients wherever they are used, as covered in intake forms that put off potential clients. A consistent process should also be a short one.
Where an assistant helps
SpideyChat for law firms can apply the same intake questions to every enquiry, capture the preferred office and create a ticket for the right team. It answers questions from your own pages, such as services, office locations and fees, and does not give legal advice. The capture options are described on the forms page.
Visitor: I'd like to speak to someone about a will. I live near your Northgate office. Assistant: Of course. Wills are handled by the private client team, and the Northgate office has members of that team. Could you share your name, contact details and a brief summary? I'll pass it to them.
The time saved on unsuitable enquiries is covered in chatbots for law firms qualifying clients without billable hours.
Getting buy-in
Offices used to their own ways may resist change. Show them the benefit: fewer misrouted enquiries, less repeat questioning and clearer ownership. Start with one practice area as a pilot, then extend.
Handling clients who contact several offices
Some prospective clients contact more than one office, hoping for a faster reply. Without a shared process, two teams may respond separately, or both may assume the other will. A single intake view prevents this. When an enquiry arrives, the team can see whether the same person has already been in touch elsewhere and make sure one person takes ownership. The client gets one clear, coordinated reply, which reflects well on the whole firm.
Measuring the change
After a few months, compare response times and conversion rates across offices. Consistent intake usually narrows the gap between the fastest and slowest teams.
Getting started
Agree the intake standard, set routing and ownership, and apply it everywhere. See how capture and routing work on the features page, or try SpideyChat on your own site.