Today’s clients want help—and they want it now.

They don’t care where you went to law school. They don’t care how much you won for your last client. They care about how easy you are to work with.

In this episode, Gary shares a personal story that perfectly parallels the modern client experience—and exposes why most law firms lose business without realizing it.

What You’ll Learn:

🔹Why convenience beats quality in intake

🔹The friction points you may not know you have

🔹How to stop pushing good clients away

🔹What it takes to win in a world of instant gratification

Biggest Insight:

You’re not the only bagel shop on the route—if you make it hard, they’re gone.

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FIND GARY:

Instagram: @theintakeplaybook

Facebook: @theintakeplaybook

LinkedIn: /the-intake-playbook

Website: intakeplaybook.com

Join The Intake Playbook Community - A free group for legal professionals who want to convert more leads into cases.

Read Gary's Book - The Complete Guide to Law Firm Intake: Powerful Strategies To Maximize Retention and Increase Revenue.

Join The Intake Masterclass - The only continuing legal education membership for legal professionals who want to go beyond the basics and master elite-level intake strategies. Get direct access to Gary Falkowitz, The Legal Intake Authority, and learn how to turn more calls into signed cases with cutting-edge techniques and expert coaching.

The phrase “Is this a case?” might cost your firm millions in lost revenue.

In this episode, Gary shares the simple but game-changing shift to make at intake:

Change the question to “Could this be a case?”—and open up opportunities you’ve been screening out.

With real stories, legal industry examples, and tactical advice, this episode will show you how to capture more value without lowering your standards.

What You’ll Learn

🔹 How overly strict intake criteria limit growth

🔹 The “maybe” moment most firms miss

🔹 How to drop clients respectfully when necessary

🔹 Why saying yes (more often) leads to more referrals and revenue

Why This Episode Matters

Your intake team could be turning away the cases that change your firm’s trajectory. This episode will show you how to reframe intake to spot the real (hidden) opportunities.

Biggest Insight

It’s not about saying yes to every case—it’s about saying yes to more “maybe” cases.

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FIND GARY:

Instagram: @theintakeplaybook

Facebook: @theintakeplaybook

LinkedIn: /the-intake-playbook

Website: intakeplaybook.com

Join The Intake Playbook Community - A free group for legal professionals who want to convert more leads into cases.

Read Gary's Book - The Complete Guide to Law Firm Intake: Powerful Strategies To Maximize Retention and Increase Revenue.

Join The Intake Masterclass - The only continuing legal education membership for legal professionals who want to go beyond the basics and master elite-level intake strategies. Get direct access to Gary Falkowitz, The Legal Intake Authority, and learn how to turn more calls into signed cases with cutting-edge strategies and expert coaching.

There’s a moment on intake calls that separates firms who close… from firms who chase. It’s when a client hesitates. And what your intake team does next determines everything.

In this episode, I unpack the overlooked power of escalation—bringing in a higher-level team member when the conversation hits a wall. It’s a move that car dealerships have mastered, and law firms desperately need to adopt.

If your team ends too many calls with “Okay, no problem—call us back when you're ready,” you’re not converting… you’re conceding.

What You’ll Learn:

🔹 When and how to escalate an intake call the right way

🔹 Why hesitation is a buying signal, not a dead-end

🔹 The exact language intake teams can use to loop in a decision-maker

🔹 How escalation creates trust, authority, and urgency

Why This Episode Matters:

Potential clients are often unsure, overwhelmed, or afraid to commit. Having a second layer of support shows them that your firm is serious, credible, and prepared to guide them—no matter where they are in their decision-making process.

Biggest Insight:

The firms that escalate at the right time close more of the leads that other firms lose.

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FIND GARY:

Instagram: @theintakeplaybook

Facebook: @theintakeplaybook

LinkedIn: /the-intake-playbook

Website: intakeplaybook.com

Join The Intake Playbook Community - A free group for legal professionals who want to convert more leads into cases.

Read Gary's Book - The Complete Guide to Law Firm Intake: Powerful Strategies To Maximize Retention and Increase Revenue.

Join The Intake Masterclass - The only continuing legal education membership for legal professionals who want to go beyond the basics and master elite-level intake strategies. Get direct access to Gary Falkowitz, The Legal Intake Authority, and learn how to turn more calls into signed cases with cutting-edge strategies and expert coaching.

If your intake team isn’t showing compassion and proactive reassurance (CPR) immediately, clients won’t wait. They’ll keep calling other firms until they find one that makes them feel heard.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

 🔹 Why CPR in 15 is the key to more signed cases.

🔹 How to instantly build trust with potential clients.

🔹 The biggest intake mistake that’s costing law firms business.

🔹 How to make clients feel valued in the FIRST 15 SECONDS.

🎙️ Why This Episode Matters:

When your clients call, they are in stress mode and want reassurance fast. If your intake team waits too long to connect, clients will call another firm that doesn’t.

This episode explains exactly how to implement CPR in 15 to keep more cases, build stronger client relationships, and dominate intake.

🏆 Biggest Insight:

Clients don’t wait for you to care. If they don’t feel heard immediately, they’ll find a firm that makes them feel important.

SUBSCRIBE:

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FIND GARY:

Instagram: @theintakeplaybook

Facebook: @theintakeplaybook

LinkedIn: /the-intake-playbook

Website: intakeplaybook.com

Join The Intake Playbook Community - A free group for legal professionals who want to convert more leads into cases.

Read Gary's Book - The Complete Guide to Law Firm Intake: Powerful Strategies To Maximize Retention and Increase Revenue.

Join The Intake Masterclass - The only continuing legal education membership for legal professionals who want to go beyond the basics and master elite-level intake strategies. Get direct access to Gary Falkowitz, The Legal Intake Authority, and learn how to turn more calls into signed cases with cutting-edge strategies and expert coaching.

Speed isn’t optional—it’s everything. Clients aren’t waiting for your call back. They’re hiring the first firm that acts like they want the case.

Most law firms have no idea how many potential clients they lose because they are too slow to follow up.

Think about this: When someone needs a lawyer, they’re in immediate problem-solving mode. They’re not waiting for a callback. They’re copying and pasting their inquiry to six other firms—and do you know who usually wins?

The first one to respond.

In this episode, I explain why SPEED is the #1 factor in winning new cases—and how you can instantly fix your intake process.

👉 If you’re calling clients back hours later (or worse, days later), you’re already too late.

Here’s What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

🔹 Why clients almost always choose the first firm to respond

🔹 The #1 mistake that makes firms lose cases before they even start

🔹 How to set up a 24/7 intake system to catch every lead

🔹 Why web inquiries need a response within 30 seconds

🔹 How much money your firm is leaving on the table by being slow

Bottom line: If you want to sign more cases, speed wins.

QUESTION FOR YOU: What’s your firm’s average response time? Drop a comment below—I want to know!

👉 If you got value from this, don’t just watch—SUBSCRIBE. Big things are coming, and I don’t want you to miss out. Click that button now! 🚀

SUBSCRIBE:

Apple | Spotify | YouTube

FIND GARY:

Instagram: @theintakeplaybook

Facebook: @theintakeplaybook

LinkedIn: /the-intake-playbook

Website: intakeplaybook.com

Join The Intake Playbook Community - A free group for legal professionals who want to convert more leads into cases.

Read Gary's Book - The Complete Guide to Law Firm Intake: Powerful Strategies To Maximize Retention and Increase Revenue.

Join The Intake Masterclass - The only continuing legal education membership for legal professionals who want to go beyond the basics and master elite-level intake strategies. Get direct access to Gary Falkowitz, The Legal Intake Authority, and learn how to turn more calls into signed cases with cutting-edge strategies and expert coaching.

Your first call is your only shot. Don’t waste it. Too many law firms assume they’ll get a second chance to sign a client, but the truth is, you rarely do.

Most law firms think they can "follow up later" or "review the case." Big mistake. The reality? You have ONE shot. In this episode, Gary Falkowitz breaks down why making an instant decision is the key to winning more cases—and what’s at stake if you don’t.

What You’ll Learn:

🔹 The #1 mistake law firms make on intake calls (and how to fix it today).

🔹 Why “thinking it over” is costing you clients—and how to stop overanalyzing.

🔹 How top-performing firms sign cases immediately (and why you should too).

🔹 The biggest myth about legal intake that’s destroying your conversion rates.

🔹 The exact mindset shift that will increase your client sign-ups overnight.

🎙️ Why This Episode Matters:

Imagine running a car dealership where potential buyers walk in, test-drive a car, and leave without making a decision. Would you expect them to come back? Of course not. The same applies to law firms—clients won’t wait around for you to decide.

In this episode, I’ll show you why indecision is killing your business and what you need to do right now to fix it. If you want to stop losing cases to your competition, this is the episode you can’t afford to skip.

🏆 Biggest Insight:

If you don’t sign a client on the first call, the odds of them signing with you later drop dramatically. Top firms don’t hesitate. They make a decision—fast.

SUBSCRIBE:

Apple | Spotify | YouTube

FIND GARY:

Instagram: @theintakeplaybook

Facebook: @theintakeplaybook

LinkedIn: /the-intake-playbook

Website: intakeplaybook.com

Join The Intake Playbook Community - A free group for legal professionals who want to convert more leads into cases.

Read Gary's Book - The Complete Guide to Law Firm Intake: Powerful Strategies To Maximize Retention and Increase Revenue.

Join The Intake Masterclass - The only continuing legal education membership for legal professionals who want to go beyond the basics and master elite-level intake strategies. Get direct access to Gary Falkowitz, The Legal Intake Authority, and learn how to turn more calls into signed cases with cutting-edge strategies and expert coaching.

In this inaugural episode, Gary Falkowitz dives into a hard truth that many in the legal industry avoid: winners work on the weekends.

Potential clients don’t operate on a nine-to-five schedule, and neither should law firms that want to win. Gary breaks down why being available when clients need you—whether it’s 9 PM on a Friday or 11 AM on a Saturday—can be the difference between signing the case or losing it to someone else.

This episode is a must-listen if you’re serious about client intake and retention. Learn why weekends are prime time for law firms and how being responsive when it matters most can set you apart from the competition.

SUBSCRIBE:

Apple | Spotify | YouTube

FIND GARY:

Instagram: @theintakeplaybook

Facebook: @theintakeplaybook

LinkedIn: /the-intake-playbook

Website: intakeplaybook.com

Join The Intake Playbook Community - A free group for legal professionals who want to convert more leads into cases.

Read Gary's Book - The Complete Guide to Law Firm Intake: Powerful Strategies To Maximize Retention and Increase Revenue.

Join The Intake Masterclass - The only continuing legal education membership for legal professionals who want to go beyond the basics and master elite-level intake strategies. Get direct access to Gary Falkowitz, The Legal Intake Authority, and learn how to turn more calls into signed cases with cutting-edge strategies and expert coaching.

The Intake Playbook Podcast with Gary Falkowitz is the only podcast laser-focused on transforming your intake process to drive higher conversions, better client experiences, and massive revenue growth. Hosted by legal intake expert Gary Falkowitz, this podcast helps law firms stop losing cases and start closing them.

Each episode delivers actionable strategies, client-tested frameworks, real-life call breakdowns, and insider stories to turn your intake team into your firm’s secret weapon. If you want to maximize leads, elevate your intake game, and generate more revenue without increasing your marketing budget, you’re in the right place.

SUBSCRIBE:

Apple | Spotify | YouTube

FIND GARY:

Instagram: @theintakeplaybook

Facebook: @theintakeplaybook

LinkedIn: /the-intake-playbook

Website: intakeplaybook.com

Join The Intake Playbook Community - A free group for legal professionals who want to convert more leads into cases.

Read Gary's Book - The Complete Guide to Law Firm Intake: Powerful Strategies To Maximize Retention and Increase Revenue.

Join The Intake Masterclass - The only continuing legal education membership for legal professionals who want to go beyond the basics and master elite-level intake strategies. Get direct access to Gary Falkowitz, The Legal Intake Authority, and learn how to turn more calls into signed cases with cutting-edge strategies and expert coaching.