In this short on Legal Marketing by Spearleaf, Joshua Albanese, founder of Spearleaf, gives a lawyer four questions for any legal intake service: conflict check before the story, who answers late and in Spanish, booking or e-sign retainers, and recorded calls, plus one red flag. Narrated with an AI voice clone of Joshua Albanese. Other characters are AI-generated. Every answer is written and checked by the Spearleaf team.
Read the full guide: How to Choose a Legal Intake Service: 4 Questions to Ask →
Video Transcript
Business owner: Hey Joshua, I'm shopping for legal intake services because my phone goes to voicemail every night after six. We dropped our last service, and I know I'm losing people.
Joshua: When Clio's secret shoppers called law firms in 2024, only 40% answered. A service fixes that only if it handles the call like your best staffer would. Ask four things before you sign. One. Do you run my conflict check before you take the story? Names of the parties first, then the facts.
Business owner: My old service took twenty minutes of facts before I learned I represented the other driver.
Joshua: Then hand them your conflict questions and make them ask those first, before any facts about the case. Two. Who answers at eleven on a Saturday, and in Spanish? Jail calls and crash calls don't keep office hours. Three. Can they book the consult, or send your e-sign retainer on the cases you've told them to take? A message isn't a next step.
Business owner: The cheaper service said their people answer basic legal questions. I took that as a bonus.
Joshua: Treat it as a red flag. "Do I have a case?" is the lawyer's call. Under the ABA model rule, you have to make reasonable efforts so outside help follows your rules. Check your state bar's rules. Four. Is every call recorded in an account you log into, with callers told it's recorded? Check your state's recording law.
Business owner: One vendor pitched me an AI receptionist that never sleeps. Cheaper than people, they said.
Joshua: Ask it the same four questions. Then call it late and ask whether you have a case, and listen to what it says. Whoever you pick, keep your own phone number and forward it to them, so the number stays with you. Ask whether they handle web chat, texts and Facebook messages too, not just phones. And ask how long the contract runs and how to cancel. Before you sign, ask for a trial on your own line. Call it yourself late one night. Want the Position Zero Guide to Getting More Customers on ChatGPT, Google and Google Maps? Comment "DRIVE" and I'll send it. And follow for more straight answers like this.