They repeat in firms that have never met. None of them shows up in the accounts: they show up as enquiries that end up at another firm, calls that interrupt, matters on hold waiting for paperwork and fee quotes nobody looks at again.
LEAK 01
The enquiry nobody answers in time
Enquiries that arrive while the lawyer is in court
New enquiries come in by phone, WhatsApp, the website or legal directories while the lawyer is in court, in a meeting or out of hours. They get answered hours later, when the person has already spoken to another firm that replied first. And the ones that do get answered go into the diary without knowing whether the matter is in your practice areas or whether it is urgent.
40 % of firms picked up the phone (US data, indicative)
LEAK 02
The client who calls to ask how their case is going
Calls that interrupt the lawyer
In long matters (family, probate, employment, civil), the client goes weeks without news and calls or writes to ask how it is going. The call interrupts the lawyer, who is often in court and cannot return it that day. The client feels nobody is looking after their case, and the same questions come back every week.
74 % want to know the whole process from the start (US data, indicative)
LEAK 03
The document that never arrives
Half the paperwork while the deadline runs
To prepare a claim, a defence or a filing you need documents from the client: ID, payslips, contracts, deeds, emails. They are requested at the first consultation, arrive half-complete and through different channels, and someone at the firm spends days chasing them by phone and email while the deadline runs.
41.9 % of Spanish firms bill less than half their time
LEAK 04
The engagement letter that never gets signed
«I will think about it» after the first consultation
After the first consultation, the client takes the fee quote and the engagement letter, says «I will think about it» and never writes again. Nobody calls because the lawyer is busy with other matters, and a few weeks later an instruction is written off that sometimes only needed a question about fees or payment answered.
43 % compare several firms (UK data, indicative)
LEAK 05
The review nobody asks for
Matters closed without asking how it went
A matter closes, the client leaves grateful and nobody asks how it went or suggests leaving a review. The Google profile stays with few, old reviews, and people looking for a lawyer in your area compare profiles before they call.
83 % read reviews of local businesses on Google (US data, indicative)
LEAK 06
The one-matter client
Other practice areas that go to another firm
A client comes for a dismissal, a separation or an estate and, when they need something from another area (setting up a company, reviewing a contract, a claim), they do not know the firm handles it too and go elsewhere. Or they mention it in passing to the lawyer on their case and nobody tells the colleague who works that area.
91.9 % of Spanish firms say winning and keeping clients is a major challenge
It is not the lawyers’ fault. The firm is doing by hand work that a system should do. That is what we build.
