Why Follow-ups in Law Firms Are Not "Sales"
In practice, follow-up is not selling, but process hygiene:
- Clients have open questions,
- documents are missing,
- deadlines are unclear,
- responsibilities change.
Without follow-up, intake becomes an inbox. With follow-up, intake becomes a status model.
The 3-Step Playbook (Copy/Paste)
1) 24h – Clarification + Next Step
Goal: Categorize, classify, get missing info.
Text template (email):
Subject: Your inquiry – quick question
Thank you for your inquiry. So we can properly categorize: Does it concern [category] and is there a deadline?
If you want, briefly mention 1–2 key facts (e.g., date of event). After that, we'll suggest the next step.
2) 48h – Reminder + Clear Option
Goal: Trigger response without pressure.
Text template:
Subject: Reminder about your inquiry from [date]
Quick reminder: We're still missing [missing info] to suggest the next step.
If the matter has resolved itself, a brief note is enough – then we'll close the inquiry.
3) 5 Days – Closure + Archive Rule
Goal: Keep inbox clean.
Text template:
Subject: Closing your inquiry
We haven't received a response and are archiving the inquiry for now.
If the matter is still relevant, simply reply to this email – then we'll pick it up again.
Stop Rules (So Follow-ups Don't Annoy)
- Stop immediately when client responds (change status)
- Stop when "not relevant / no interest"
- Stop when legally/organizationally not a fit (with brief, respectful closing note)
Status Model: Where Follow-ups Belong
This only works with status + owner.
Minimal status (copy/paste):
- New
- Qualification
- Questions open
- Meeting scheduled
- Accepted / Rejected
- Archive
Rule: "Questions open" always has a timer (24h/48h/5 days).
KPI Block
- Follow-up rate: How many cases need a follow-up?
- Response time after follow-up: Do clients respond after 24h/48h?
- Time to decision: Does it decrease when follow-ups are active?
Next Step
If you want, we'll build this as process logic (status + timer + templates) so nobody has to track manually.
Starting point:
- Intake channel(s)
- Status model
- Owner
- 1 KPI
More context (status model, KPIs):
Intake Routing in Law Firms