Hennessey Digital’s 2025 Lead Form Response Time Study

2025 Lead Form Response Times & Trends

Twenty-five percent of law firms respond to online leads in under 5 minutes, compared to just 13% four years ago. The shortened window can be attributed to the improvement of intake processes, and capabilities made possible by automation and technology.

Thirty-three percent of firms respond in 10 minutes or less, and 56% get back within the hour. Thirthy-nine percent of firms take more than 2 hours to respond or don’t respond at all to online leads.

Decreasing the amount of time a prospective client has to wait before connecting with someone from your law firm increases the potential for that lead to convert into a client. When analyzing your firm’s growth goals and marketing ROI, looking at your response times and intake process will help reveal an accurate view of what’s working – or what’s not.

Hold the phone! The personal touch of a phone call continues to be the #1 method used by law firms when responding to online leads, as shown by 87% of firms in 2025. Sixty-seven percent use email, either automated or personalized.

Responding via text has seen slower growth than we expected, with just 5% growth since 2021. While effective in connecting with clients, a contributing factor is likely that law firms are using this method with caution and diligence, owing to stricter A2P (Application-to-Person) messaging regulations requiring businesses to obtain explicit content to send SMS messages.

Noteworthy Trends

Design plays an important role in converting site visitors into clients. Here’s a look at web development trends law firms are using to increase online engagement in 2025.

Costly Mistakes

Each year, a few eye-catching patterns that are costing law firms the opportunity to sign new clients bubble to the top when we’re analyzing thousands of websites, email responses, voicemails and text messages. We share them here to help you avoid these costly mistakes.

• Keep your online lead form simple and legible. When designing your website, ensure all fields and boxes to check on your lead form are legible and don’t blend in with the background or are covered by chat features. Avoid over-optimizing your lead forms, and use everyday language a prospective client would understand. Collecting enough information that helps you be efficient without making them jump through hoops will lead to more lead form completions.
• Leave a voicemail. A number of law firms, including many we were able to identify, did not leave a message on their first phone call, wasting the effort made to respond quickly to an online lead.
• Speak clearly when leaving a voicemail. If a prospective client has reached out to more than one law firm, they may not call you back if they can’t understand the name of the firm you’re calling from.
• Mention who referred the lead to you. Kudos to the few prominent law firms who did this! But a handful of firms did not. If you purchase or acquire a lead, mention that firm’s name in your email, call or text. It will help establish trust and connect the dots as to who you are and why you’re calling. Otherwise, you might get ghosted.
• Avoid jargon. Those of us in the industry know what ‘intake’ means. The everyday person in your community does not. Use phrases the general public would know when asking about case type on your lead form, and avoid phrases like “I’m reaching out to complete your intake” when responding to a lead. Create a connection, not confusion, by keeping their engagement with your firm personable and clear.

What The Future Holds For Online Presence, Lead Gen & Converting More Leads to Cases

Authors & Research Design Team

Cindy Kerber Spellman Senior Director of Marketing

Stanislov Ivanov Data Scientist

Jasper Prince Graphic Designer

Richard Nunez, Marketing & Communications Manager

Sandro Schutt Software Engineer I

Brandon Caballero Director of Analytics & CRO

Scott Shrum President & COO

Special thanks to Nikka Suan, Melodee Dacanay, and Cher Jopia Pareja.