Guide

How to answer "What does it cost?" on an intake call

The fee question is where most intake calls are won or lost. It is not a legal question, so intake can and should answer it, in a way that keeps the call moving.
Last reviewed October 25, 2026 · By Dr. Jeffrey Scott Stanton, DCH

Why "it depends" loses the call

When a caller asks about cost and hears "it depends, the attorney will go over that," they hear that the firm either will not say or does not know. A caller who is comparing firms hangs up on the one that dodged. Nothing was protected by the dodge, because the fee is the firm's policy and not a legal opinion.

The consultation fee, the fee model and what the consultation covers are all things intake is allowed to explain. What intake must never do is predict what the legal work will cost or what the matter is worth, because that depends on the attorney's evaluation.

The four parts of a good answer

Acknowledge it. "Fair question." No apology and no sigh.
State the fee once. The consultation fee, or that there is none, exactly as the firm sets it.
Say what the caller gets for it. In the caller's own terms: the attorney hears the whole situation and explains the next step.
Ask for the next step. A time, with two options, in the same breath.

"Fair question. The consultation is [the firm's fee] and it covers an hour with the attorney, who will explain what the work itself would cost once she has heard your situation. You said the hearing is on the 14th, so Thursday or Friday morning would work. Which is easier?"

The fee is stated plainly, the caller's own deadline is used, and the case is not evaluated.

The three habits that cost consultations

Softening. "It is only a hundred" or "the attorney can sometimes work with you" discounts the fee before the caller has reacted, and promises something that is not intake's to promise.
Burying. Stating the fee at the end of a long explanation, so it lands as a surprise.
Stopping. Giving the number and then going quiet, so the caller fills the silence with "I will think about it."

Each of these is a pattern, not a knowledge gap. The Price Softener is the most common one on intake desks, and it is usually the kindest person on the team.

If the fee model is contingency or varies

Say what the firm says: how the arrangement works at a high level, as the firm has approved the wording, and that the attorney will explain how it applies to the caller's matter. Do not estimate percentages or totals for a specific caller. The firm should agree this wording in writing before the desk uses it.

Keep reading

Scope, plainly: everything on this site concerns the conversation that turns an inquiry into an engagement. Nothing here is legal advice, nothing touches the legal work or the attorney's judgment, and any wording a firm adopts is reviewed by the firm against its jurisdiction's rules on attorney advertising, solicitation and fee communication before it is used.

About the Author

Dr. Jeffrey Scott Stanton, DCH is a behavioral strategist and the founder and Chief Learning Officer of R2R Diagnostic Group. He is the former EVP of Learning & Development at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, where he trained sales professionals on the conversations that turn an inquiry into a commitment. He applies the same method, the R2R Assessment and a 14-item call-review scorecard, to law firm intake teams. The work is the conversation only; legal questions and judgment stay with the attorney.

The method, the scripts and the scorecard are on how it works, the script template and the scorecard guide.

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