In this blog, we feature insights into the effects of increasing competition and consolidation on the legal industry, and why it’s critical for your firm to focus on client intake and retention.

Impact of Private Equity on Competition

Private equity is ready to attack the legal industry, mining it for high double-digit returns to satiate their investors. Many states are currently seeing new bills being proposed to allow for non-attorney ownership of law firms.

This has enticed large-scale litigation funders and private equity investors to compete with existing law firms by heavily investing in leading firms, helping them to buy out smaller competitors to gain operations and management efficiencies.

The Importance of  Client Intake and Retention

In the face of increasing competition that’s formidably funded, it’s more important than ever to quickly retain clients before they have a chance to go to your competition. It can be easy to dismiss a lost case simply as lost revenue, but the truth is that each lost case creates an opportunity for your competitors.

As Chad Dudley, managing partner at Dudley DeBosier Injury Lawyers , and Gary Falkowitz , president of Intake Conversion Experts, explain in this 2-minute video, each lost case eventually ends up in the hands of another law firm. The settlement money that you lose out on goes into the ‘war chest’ of a competitor, which means more growth potential for them in the form of increased investment marketing and business expansion.

The prevailing understanding of the legal service industry is that prospective clients rarely take their case to just a single target firm. They will “shop around,” making enquiries at many firms — including your competitors — then make a decision on who they will retain.

Leveraging Intake Technology and Training

One way to ensure that you never miss a client inquiry, leaving them time to go to a competitor, is by investing in intake technology. New technology and effective marketing campaigns will attractive and retain more clients, and perfecting your onboarding process will decrease the possibility for clients to slip through the cracks, into the arms of your competitors.

It’s also important to invest in training your intake staff and establishing an efficient intake system. First impressions count and new clients can be won or lost right from the start. Developing intake specialists who are empathetic, good listeners, and can quickly identify qualified leads, will then help converting them to potential new clients.

Click above to watch this video featuring Chad Dudley and Gary Falkowitz as they discuss how increasing competition is making case intake a key area of competitive strength for contingency fee law firms.

Looking for more resources about Case Intake?

Read this blog about best practices for case intake, featuring insights from Vista Consulting.