Your Phones Are Ringing. You're Not Answering. Here's What That's Costing You.

It's 7:42 PM on a Tuesday. A woman just rear-ended someone on the interstate. She's shaken but not hurt. She's sitting in her car, Googling "personal injury attorney near me." She calls the first result. Voicemail. She calls the second. Also voicemail. The third firm picks up on the second ring.

A real person says, "Hi, this is Sarah with Thompson Law. Are you okay? Tell me what happened."

The woman starts talking. Within four minutes she has a consultation booked for the next morning. She never calls anyone else. She doesn't need to.

Firms one and two will never know she existed. They'll check their voicemail tomorrow, maybe. By then, she's already someone else's client.

This isn't a hypothetical. According to Clio's 2024 Legal Trends Report, only 40% of law firms answered the phone when contacted by secret shoppers, down from 56% in 2019. Worse: 48% of firms were essentially unreachable by phone, meaning they didn't answer and didn't call back [1].

Nearly half. Unreachable.

Let's do the math.

Forget feelings. Let's build a simple pipeline model that any solo or small firm can use. There are five numbers that matter:

1. Inbound calls (or leads) per month

2. % answered or responded to

3. % of those that are qualified prospects

4. % of qualified prospects who book a consult

5. % of consults that convert to signed clients

Multiply those together, then multiply by your average fee per signed case. That's your monthly revenue from inbound leads. Now watch what happens when the answer rate drops.

Example A: Personal Injury Contingency Firm

Assumptions (labeled as such, your numbers will differ):

• 60 inbound calls/month (modest for a firm running any paid advertising)

• 80% answer rate during business hours

• 50% are qualified (the other half are spam, wrong numbers, or poor fit)

• 70% of qualified callers book a consultation

• 40% of consultations convert to signed cases

• Average fee per signed PI case: $8,000

With an 80% answer rate:

• 60 × 0.80 = 48 answered

• 48 × 0.50 = 24 qualified

• 24 × 0.70 = 16.8 consults booked

• 16.8 × 0.40 = 6.7 signed cases

• 6.7 × $8,000 = $53,760/month

Now drop the answer rate to 50%:

• 60 × 0.50 = 30 answered

• 30 × 0.50 = 15 qualified

• 15 × 0.70 = 10.5 consults booked

• 10.5 × 0.40 = 4.2 signed cases

• 4.2 × $8,000 = $33,600/month

The gap: $20,160 per month. That's $241,920 per year.

Example B: General Practice Small Firm (Flat-Fee & Hourly Mix)

Assumptions:

• 40 inbound calls/month

• 70% answer rate

• 60% qualified

• 60% of qualified book a consult

• 50% of consults convert

• Average first-year value per client: $2,500

At 70% answer rate:

• 40 × 0.70 = 28 answered

• 28 × 0.60 = 16.8 qualified

• 16.8 × 0.60 = 10.1 consults booked

• 10.1 × 0.50 = 5.0 signed clients

• 5.0 × $2,500 = $12,600/month

Drop to 40% answer rate:

• 40 × 0.40 = 16 answered

• 16 × 0.60 = 9.6 qualified

• 9.6 × 0.60 = 5.8 consults

• 5.8 × 0.50 = 2.9 signed clients

• 2.9 × $2,500 = $7,200/month

The gap: $5,400/month, or $64,800/year.

You're also burning your ad spend.

According to WordStream’s 2025 Google Ads benchmarks, the average cost per lead for legal is $131.63—the highest of any category [2].

If you're generating 60 leads a month and missing 30% of them (18 leads), that's:

18 × $131.63 = $2,369/month in burned ad spend.

Then add the lost case revenue.

Firms that say Google Ads “don’t work” should check their answer rate first.

Speed isn't just nice. It's the whole ballgame.

A lead response study from MIT/InsideSales.com found:

• The odds of contacting a lead drop 100x if you wait 30 minutes vs. 5 minutes.

• The odds of qualifying that lead drop 21x [3].

The first firm to speak with the client usually wins—not because they’re better lawyers, but because they answered.

Four ways to plug the leak

1. Improve live answer coverage.

Stagger schedules, hire part-time, or cover peak hours. A part-time receptionist at the median wage (~$18.6K/year) is often cheaper than the revenue lost.

2. Tighten your intake scripts and next steps.

Only 18% of firms provide clear next steps or cost info [1].
A simple script improves conversions dramatically.

3. Use a virtual receptionist (human, AI, or hybrid).

Costs range from $100–$1,500/month.
The real question: what happens after the call is answered?

4. Add intake forms + immediate follow-up workflows.

Online forms + fast follow-up = 50% more clients & revenue on average [1].

The 30-minute intake leak audit

You can run this in 30 minutes:

1. Pull your phone records.

2. Check after-hours coverage.

3. Count voicemails.

4. Test your contact form.

5. Listen to 5 intake calls.

6. Map your handoff.

7. Calculate your lead-to-client rate.

8. Compare ad spend vs. answer rate.

Plug in your own numbers

Now re-run with a 20-point higher answer rate.
That's your leak.

The bottom line

Missed calls aren't a staffing issue. They're a measurable revenue leak—and one you can fix this week.

The firms winning on intake aren't always the best lawyers. They're the ones who answer, ask good questions, and book the next step before the caller shops around.

Nearly half the industry isn't doing that right now [1].

Run the audit.
Do the math.
Close the gap.

Sources

[1] Clio, 2024 Legal Trends Report
[2] WordStream, Google Ads Benchmarks 2025
[3] MIT / InsideSales Lead Response Management Study
[4] BLS Receptionist Wage Data, 2024
[5] 2Civility Intake Analysis, 2024