In-House vs Outsourced Intake: The Real Trade-Offs

Every growing law firm faces this question: do we handle intake ourselves, or do we bring in outside help?

There's no universally right answer. But there are trade-offs you should understand before deciding.

The Case for In-House

Control. Your people, your training, your standards. When something goes wrong, you fix it directly. When something works well, you know exactly why.

Firm knowledge. Internal staff understand your practice areas, your preferences, your attorneys' personalities. They can answer questions an outside service can't.

Relationship continuity. The same person who handles intake might handle client communication throughout the case. That continuity matters.

Culture fit. They're part of your team. They care about the firm's success because their success depends on it.

The Case for Outsourced

24/7 coverage without 24/7 staffing. Hiring someone to answer phones at 3 AM is expensive and logistically complicated. Outsourced solutions handle this seamlessly.

Immediate scalability. Running ads this month? Volume spikes next week? External solutions scale instantly. Hiring takes months.

Lower fixed costs. Employee costs extend beyond salary—benefits, payroll taxes, management time, office space. Outsourced solutions are a predictable line item.

Expertise at scale. The best intake solutions have learned from thousands of law firms. They've seen patterns you haven't. They've made mistakes you don't have to.

The Real Math

Let's be concrete. An in-house intake person costs:

• Salary: $40,000-60,000/year (varies by market)
• Benefits: Add 25-30%
• Payroll taxes: Add 7-8%
• Training: Weeks of time
• Management: Ongoing attention
• Coverage gaps: Sick days, vacation, turnover

All-in, you're at $55,000-85,000/year for one person covering business hours only.

Compare that to outsourced solutions at $200-400/month ($2,400-4,800/year) providing 24/7 coverage.

The math looks obvious—until you factor in what you lose.

What You Lose with Outsourcing

Institutional knowledge. An outsourced service knows intake in general. They don't know your firm specifically. They can't answer "does Attorney Smith handle motorcycle cases?" without being told.

Flexibility. Your internal person can do intake, plus answer client questions, plus help with admin work, plus cover the front desk. A specialized intake service does intake only.

Direct accountability. When something goes wrong with an external service, you're dependent on their processes to fix it. With internal staff, you handle it yourself.

Client perception. Some clients want to feel like they're talking to "the firm," not an outsourced service. Whether this matters depends on your client base.

The Hybrid Reality

Most growing firms end up with some combination.

Common models:

Internal + AI after hours. Staff handles intake during business hours; AI covers nights and weekends. Best of both worlds.

Outsourced + internal quality control. External service handles initial contact; internal staff reviews and follows up on qualified leads.

AI + internal escalation. AI handles initial engagement and qualification; internal staff picks up complex situations.

The right mix depends on your volume, your budget, and how much control you need.

Questions to Ask Yourself

How much after-hours volume do you have? If 60% of your leads come after hours, internal-only isn't realistic.

How specialized is your practice? Complex practice areas with lots of nuance may benefit from internal expertise.

How fast are you growing? If volume is unpredictable, the flexibility of outsourced solutions helps.

What's your cost tolerance? Can you afford internal staff, or is cash flow a constraint?

How important is control? Some firms can't stomach anyone external touching client relationships.

The Decision Framework

Start outsourced if:

• You're early stage and watching cash
• Volume is unpredictable
• After-hours coverage is essential
• You want to test intake approaches before committing to staff

Build in-house if:

• You have predictable, high volume
• Practice area nuance requires internal knowledge
• Client relationships demand continuity
• You have budget and management capacity

Go hybrid if:

• You want coverage without the cost of 24/7 staffing
• Volume justifies some internal investment
• You want internal quality with external scale

Our Honest Take

Most firms under 10 attorneys should probably outsource intake (whether to AI or a service). The economics make sense, and the capability gap has closed.

Larger firms with predictable volume and specific requirements often benefit from internal staff—supplemented by external coverage for after-hours and overflow.

The worst outcome is paying for internal staff who can't cover the hours you need, while also paying for external coverage. That's the most expensive option with the most complexity.

Pick a model. Commit to it. Optimize from there.