How Much Do You Charge? How Law Firms Answer the Fee Question on the First Call

"How much do you charge?" Every firm hears it on the first call, and firms answer it in very different ways.

We see this up close, because every intake agent we set up needs the firm's answer written down before it takes a call. Across the firms we work with, the answers vary widely, but they come down to the same three questions, and one more question tells you which way your firm should lean.

1. Bring up fees, or wait to be asked?

Some firms quote the hourly range and typical retainer up front, then ask, "Does that work within your budget?" Others never bring up money. If the caller asks, they answer. If not, the subject waits for the attorney.

Bringing fees up early means nobody books a consultation without knowing roughly what the matter will cost. Waiting keeps the first call on the caller's problem, which is why they called, and leaves the conversation about money to the person best placed to explain it.

2. Numbers on the phone, or "the attorney will go over it"?

Some firms won't give a number at all: "There's a consultation fee, and the attorney will walk you through the full fee structure." Those that do give numbers tend to follow how their practice area bills: hourly rates and retainers in family law, for example, and flat fees by service in estate planning.

A range sets expectations and saves a question later. Holding numbers back suits a firm whose fees vary a lot from matter to matter, where any number given on the phone could be wrong for this caller. If you do give numbers, give the same ones every time, in the same words.

3. Is the first consultation free, paid, or does it depend?

Some firms give the first 30 minutes free. Some charge for a full hour. Some decide by the facts of the matter: a divorce with no children and no shared property gets a free 20 minutes, and anything bigger gets the paid hour. And some offer a paid consultation only to callers who don't want to wait for the next free opening.

The "it depends" answer is the hardest to run on a phone, because whoever answers has to apply the firm's rule on the spot. It works when the rule is written down plainly enough that a receptionist, an answering service or an agent would reach the same answer from the same facts. Our article on family law client intake best practices covers which questions to ask on the first call.

Which way to lean: what's scarcer at your firm?

The deciding question is what's scarcer at your firm: attorney time or new callers.

If the calendar is full of consultations that don't sign, fees up front screen out the mismatches before they cost an attorney an hour. If you need more consultations, leaving fees to the attorney removes one reason for a caller to end the call before booking.

If you're not sure which describes your firm, our article on finding your law firm's bottleneck has five numbers you can pull this week to find out.

Check what your phone says today

Whichever way you go, ask everyone who answers your phone what they say today when a caller asks about fees. Ask the receptionist, the paralegal who covers lunch, and the answering service if you use one. If the answers differ, that's the first thing to fix.

An agent helps here in one specific way: it gives the firm's answer, in the firm's words, the same way on every call, and it can use different wording for each practice area. To hear how an agent handles the fee question, get a demo call.