We wanted to know what attorneys really thought about non-attorney salespeople.
So, we went to the most reliable source for unencumbered opinions: social media.
Here’s what they had to say…
Attorney Chris:
“Clients need legal advice before they make such a big decision. They need to get a feel for how their lawyer is actually going to operate.”
Attorney Ken:
“As an attorney for 49 years who ran my own practice for 30 years, I think this is a terrible idea. The attorney-client relationship requires building rapport and trust between attorney and client. I would often devote three or four hours to an intake interview after initial screening by staff, determining whether I wanted to invest my time, effort, skills, and capital in the prospective client’s case. Clients are people with real complex problems, not widgets on an assembly line. No non-attorney salesperson can do that.”
Two really excellent points and maybe you have a similar type of lean in some way, shape, or form. Maybe the idea of having a non-attorney salesperson step in and run consultations is almost bewildering to you.
If this is how you feel, you probably believe the goal of the initial consultation is to give the prospect the ability to evaluate you, you evaluate them, make sure it’s the type of case you want. You want to make sure it’s legally sound, you actually want to take it on, and feel confident about the legal matter of the case.
Maybe you want to do all of that in the legal consult and even give legal advice through that consultation.
All completely understandable.
With one change…
A Different Way to Look at The Sales Process
Many firms combine initial consultation and onboarding into one meeting. They do a hybrid of both.
They’re trying to get the client to retain the firm while simultaneously trying to gather all the legal details and nuances. They start to build the onboarding for this client, so that way if they do move forward, they’ll move straight into the next steps of the case.
What we’re suggesting is a non-attorney salesperson:
- Cannot give legal advice.
- Should not give legal advice.
- Should not at all be involved in the operations of a case.
So the way we look at the sales process is a little bit different.
We view that initial consultation, or what many firms are calling a case evaluation with the non-attorney salesperson, as the meeting for the non-attorney salesperson to build rapport, build an emotional connection, and establish trust with the prospect.
The meeting is to get an idea of what’s going on for them, what they’re trying to solve and show them a path forward to how your firm can help solve the problem. Not explaining how your firm is going to solve it, but by relating to the emotional side and painting a path forward for that prospect to take the next step.
Then the next step should be onboarding.
The onboarding should happen with the legal team. This now becomes the filter for you.
For so long, attorneys have viewed the initial consultation as both the sales conversation and the initial filter.
The problem is that when those two functions are blended together, two major issues begin to appear.
- Your Conversion Rates Suffer
If you’re trying to grow your law firm, combining sales, qualification, and legal evaluation into a single meeting mixes sales and operations together.
That’s rarely a good equation.
Instead of focusing on helping qualified prospects become clients, you’re simultaneously trying to determine whether the case is legally viable, whether you want it, and how it should be handled.
As a result, fewer qualified consultations become paying clients.
- You Create a Capacity Bottleneck
The second problem is capacity.
If the attorney is responsible for every consultation, growth eventually hits a ceiling.
You schedule more consultations to generate more business.
Then those consultations become new cases.
Now you have more legal work to complete, so you slow down consultations.
Then the pipeline dries up.
Marketing ramps up again, the calendar fills, and the cycle repeats.
It’s a constant feast-or-famine pattern because sales and operations are competing for the same person’s time.
Separating those two functions allows your pipeline to remain consistent while attorneys stay focused on practicing law.
Where the Non-Attorney Salesperson Fits
The non-attorney salesperson handles the initial consultation.
Their job is not to provide legal advice. Their job is to understand the prospect’s situation, identify what they’re trying to solve, build trust, and help them feel confident taking the next step.
That’s because buying legal services is still an emotional decision.
People buy based on emotion.
They justify the decision with logic afterward.
The emotional decision happens during the consultation.
The legal logic happens during onboarding.
What If I Decide I Don’t Want the Case?
This is usually the next question: “What happens if the client signs, then meets with me and I decide I don’t want the case?”
Simple. That’s exactly what onboarding is for.
If, after reviewing the matter, you determine the case isn’t a fit for your firm, refund the client and point them toward another resource or another attorney who may be able to help.
Likewise, if the client meets with you and decides your firm isn’t the right fit, refund them and move on.
Holding onto someone who no longer wants to move forward rarely leads to a successful attorney-client relationship.
Onboarding becomes the filter, not the sales conversation.
The Numbers Support the Model
When the process is working the way it’s designed to work, a trained non-attorney salesperson can typically close 60% to 80% of qualified consultations.
From there, only a small percentage, ideally 5% or less, should ever request a refund during onboarding because the case isn’t a fit for either side.
That means you’re helping significantly more qualified people become clients while still giving attorneys every opportunity to review the legal merits before work begins.
You’re not eliminating the attorney, you’re moving the line.
Everything the attorneys in those social media comments said is valid.
Building trust matters. Evaluating the case matters. Providing legal advice matters. Determining whether you want the case matters.
We’re not suggesting those responsibilities disappear. We’re suggesting they happen at a different point in the client journey.
The initial consultation should focus on converting qualified prospects into clients.
Onboarding should focus on legal evaluation, setting expectations, answering legal questions, and confirming the relationship is the right fit for both sides.
When each stage has one clear purpose, everyone benefits.
Your sales process becomes more effective. Your legal team becomes more efficient. Your clients know exactly what comes next.
And your firm gains the capacity to grow without requiring the attorney to sit in every consultation.
