By Aijaz Alam
How quickly do law firms respond to new clients, and how do clients choose?
Only 40% of law firms answered a phone call from a would-be client in Clio's 2024 secret-shopper test of 500 firms, down from 56% in 2019, and 33% replied to an email. Counting call-backs, 52% were reachable by phone. Clio's surveys also find 71% of clients prefer a flat fee for their whole case.
- 40%Law firms that answered a secret-shopper phone callClio, 2024; 56% in 2019
- 33%Law firms that replied to a secret-shopper emailClio, 2024; 40% in 2019
- 59%Solo and small firms whose top lead source is referralsClio survey, June 2024; 27% of larger firms
- 71%Legal clients who prefer fixed or flat feesClio, May 2026
The numbers
The full breakdown
Law firms that responded to a secret-shopper client inquiry
| Response | 2019 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Answered the phone | 56% | 40% |
| Answered or called back | Not published | 52% |
| Unreachable by phone | Not published | 48% |
| Replied to the email | 40% | 33% |
Clio hired a third-party research company (Lux) to email and phone 500 law firms with a client inquiry between 20 June and 5 July 2024, following a similar study in 2019. Clio does not publish response times or a breakdown by practice area on its highlights page. Vendor research.
What clients want and where firms get leads
| Finding | Share | Clio source |
|---|---|---|
| Clients who would prefer a flat fee for their entire case | 71% | Legal Trends Report 2024 |
| Clients who would prefer a flat fee for individual activities | 51% | Legal Trends Report 2024 |
| Clients who prefer fixed or flat fees | 71% | Solo and small firm report, May 2026 |
| Consumers who used AI for a legal question and were told to contact a lawyer | 28% | Legal Trends Report 2025 |
| Solo and small firms whose highest source of leads is referrals | 59% | Solo and small firm report 2025 (June 2024 survey) |
| Larger firms whose highest source of leads is referrals | 27% | Solo and small firm report 2025 (June 2024 survey) |
Clio vendor surveys. The June 2024 survey covered 1,028 US legal professionals. The 2026 release gives no sample size or field dates.
How law firms make themselves findable online: websites and social media, ABA survey
| Measure | Share of respondents |
|---|---|
| Firm has a website, 2024 | 90% |
| Firm has a website, 2022 | 94% |
| Solo practitioners with a website, 2024 | 70% |
| Solo practitioners with a website, 2022 | 61% |
| Firms of 100+ attorneys with a website, 2024 | 100% |
| Use social media as a marketing tool, 2024 | 80% |
| Use social media as a marketing tool, 2022 | 89% |
ABA Legal Technology Survey, 2024 Websites and Marketing TechReport: lawyers describing their own firms. These rows show the channels firms use to reach would-be clients; the ABA did not measure how quickly firms answer inquiries or how clients choose a firm. LinkedIn was the main social platform (76%), followed by Facebook (53%).
Why sources differ
Same question, different answers
| Number | When | Who measured | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40% | 2024 | Clio secret-shopper test | Firms that picked up a call from a researcher posing as a client; 500 firms phoned and emailed |
| 52% | 2024 | Clio secret-shopper test | Same test, counting firms that answered or phoned back |
| 33% | 2024 | Clio secret-shopper test | Firms that replied to the researcher's email |
| 90% | 2024 | ABA TechReport | Lawyers whose firm has a website; a survey answer, not a test of response |
The responsiveness figures on this page come from one kind of study: Clio, a law practice software vendor, paid a research company to contact 500 law firms as if it were a new client, by phone and by email, and compare the results with a similar test in 2019. That is a test of what firms actually did, which is why the numbers are lower than in surveys where lawyers describe their own practice. Whether a call counts as answered depends on the rule: 40% of firms picked up, but 52% either picked up or called back, so you will see both numbers quoted. Email replies were rarer, at 33%. Clio does not publish how fast the replies came, how many firms were solo, or which practice areas were tested, so treat the result as a broad signal, not a benchmark for one practice area. The ABA's 90% website figure measures something else entirely, whether a firm has a website, and does not show how the firm handles inquiries. Clio's client-preference and lead-source figures are vendor surveys; say so when you quote them.
What it means
How to use these numbers
If a would-be client calls a law firm, the odds are that nobody picks up, and the email inbox does worse. In Clio's 2024 test, only 40% of firms answered the phone and 33% replied to email, both lower than in 2019.
That gap is the opportunity. Most firms have a website (90% of ABA respondents) and many market on social media, so getting found is common; answering is not. A firm that picks up, calls back within the day and replies to every web form will win clients that competitors paid to attract.
How clients choose also points to price clarity: 71% of clients say they prefer flat fees. For solo and small firms, referrals are still the top lead source for 59%, against 27% of larger firms, so a referral that reaches voicemail is an expensive loss.
AI is a new channel: 28% of consumers who asked an AI tool a legal question were told to contact a lawyer.
Method and sources
How it was measured
Method
- Publisher
- Clio (Legal Trends Report 2024 and 2025; Legal Trends for Solo and Small Law Firms 2025 and 2026); American Bar Association Legal Technology Survey (2024 Websites and Marketing TechReport)
- Sample
- Secret shop: Lux, a market research agency hired by Clio, emailed and phoned 500 law firms with a client inquiry, 20 June to 5 July 2024. Lead sources: Clio survey of 1,028 US legal professionals, 5-23 June 2024. ABA: survey of lawyers, 2024.
- Definition
- Answered: a person picked up the shopper's call. Reachable: answered or phoned back. Email: replied to the shopper's message. ABA website share: respondents reporting their firm has a website.
- Released
- Clio 2024 highlights page (updated 5 Nov 2025); Clio solo and small highlights (updated 8 Apr 2026); Clio release of 4 May 2026; ABA 2024 TechReport
- Checked at source
- 31 October 2026: clio.com 2024 Legal Trends highlights and 2025 solo and small highlights pages; americanbar.org 2024 Websites and Marketing TechReport
- Next release
- Clio publishes its Legal Trends Report each autumn; the secret-shopper test is not repeated every year
- Last changed
- 31 Oct 2026
- Data files
- CSV · JSON (stable links)
Sources
- Legal Trends Report and Legal Trends for Solo, Small and Mid-Sized Law Firms, Clio (Themis Solutions Inc.) Vendor data
- Legal Technology Survey (TechReport) and Profile of the Legal Profession, American Bar Association Industry body
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FAQ
More questions people ask
How many law firms miss calls from new clients?
In Clio's 2024 secret-shopper test, 60% of firms did not answer the call, and 48% were still unreachable after counting firms that phoned back.
Do legal clients prefer flat fees?
Yes, in Clio's surveys: 71% of clients would prefer a flat fee for their entire case, and 51% would prefer one for individual activities (2024). Clio's May 2026 release also gives 71%.
Where do small law firms get clients?
Referrals. 59% of solo and small firms said referrals were their highest source of leads in Clio's June 2024 survey, against 27% of larger firms.
Does AI send people to lawyers?
Sometimes. Of consumers who used AI to answer a legal question, 28% were directed to contact a lawyer, per Clio's 2025 Legal Trends Report.
Every number on this page was checked at its original source (Clio (Themis Solutions Inc.), American Bar Association). Free to cite with a link to this page.