A law firm should put the chat box on practice area pages, the contact page, and the pages that get the most search visits, open it with a plain disclaimer, and ask for a phone number before anything else. The GoHighLevel chat widget can collect contact details and route the conversation to staff. The bottom line: a chat box is an invitation to submit information, so where you put it and what it says at the start decide how much risk the firm takes on.
What ABA Formal Opinion 10 457 says
The opinion, issued August 5, 2010, says a website that invites inquiries can create a prospective client relationship under Rule 1.18, which brings confidentiality duties and possible disqualification, and that clear, conspicuous disclaimers can limit those duties. It also says a disclaimer is weak if the lawyer's conduct contradicts it. Commentators quoted by the ABA Journal note the safest approach is to warn visitors not to submit confidential information, because a disclaimer that says nothing submitted is confidential can be confusing and can be used against the firm later.
A chat box is more interactive than a form. Visitors type freely, so the opening message has to set the boundary before they do.
Where the box goes
| Page | Why |
|---|---|
| Practice area pages | Visitors arrive with a specific problem |
| Contact page | The visitor is ready to reach out |
| Consultation booking page | Catches people who hesitate at the form |
| Blog posts that rank for legal questions | High traffic, but keep the message about booking |
| Client portal or login pages | Do not place it here |
What the first message says
Something like: this is the firm's chat, please do not send confidential details here, chatting does not create an attorney client relationship, and we can call you: what is the best phone number? That gets a number first, and a lawyer decides what to discuss on the call.
Build it in GoHighLevel
A third party guide describes the GoHighLevel chat widget as a box that collects a visitor's contact information so the business can reply by text or email, with a live chat option for larger teams. Confirm the settings in your account.
- Go to Sites, then open the chat widget settings, and create a widget for the firm's website.
- Write the first message with the disclaimer and the request for a phone number.
- Add a required consent line or checkbox for text replies, tied to your A2P opt in language.
- Paste the widget code on the pages in the table, and leave it off client login pages.
- Build a workflow that starts when the widget is submitted, tags the contact Web chat, texts a short confirmation, and creates a task for intake.
- Connect the widget to Conversation AI only if the firm has approved a script, as covered in our chatbot intake guide.
Worked example
For example, if a firm's site gets 2,000 visits a month and 1 percent start a chat, that is 20 chats (2,000 times 0.01). If half leave a number, intake has 10 callbacks that would otherwise have been unnamed visitors.
Clio's Legal Trends secret shopper study of 500 firms, as summarized by the Oklahoma Bar Journal and the ABA Journal, found that 40 percent of firms answered a call from a prospective client, down from 56 percent in 2019, that about a third replied to an email, and that of the firms that missed a call, only 20 percent called back. The figures come from Clio's own research, so treat them as one vendor's benchmark, not a census of law firms.
Mistakes to avoid
- No disclaimer. Rule 1.18 duties can attach.
- Asking for case facts up front. Ask for a number first.
- A disclaimer the firm contradicts. If staff invite details, the disclaimer weakens.
- Putting the box on client pages. Clients need the portal, not intake.
How this was handled before
Firm websites offered a contact form and a phone number. The form asked for details that the ethics opinions warn can trigger duties, and many visitors never filled it in. A chat box lowers the effort to reach out, which is why the opening message and the disclaimer matter.
What to measure after launch
Track chats started by page, phone numbers captured, and consultations booked from chats. Move the box off pages where chats start and never leave a number.
Check before you switch it on
US text messages sent from a standard 10 digit number need A2P 10DLC registration. The HighLevel support portal says registration is required for texts to US recipients from 10 digit long code numbers and that toll free numbers do not require it. HighLevel's opt in guidelines also say a person cannot be forced to agree to text messages in order to submit a form, so keep the consent box optional. One compliance guide separates informational texts, which need documented consent, from marketing texts, which need prior express written consent. Ask your attorney which category your reminders fall into. Chat transcripts may contain sensitive information, so decide how long they are kept and who can read them. This is general information, not legal advice.
Questions people ask
Can a website chat create an attorney client relationship?
ABA Formal Opinion 10 457 says a website that invites inquiries can create a prospective client relationship under Rule 1.18. Disclaimers can limit it.
Should the disclaimer say nothing is confidential?
Commentators quoted by the ABA Journal say the safer wording asks visitors not to submit confidential information.
What does the GoHighLevel chat widget collect?
A third party guide says it collects the visitor's contact information so the business can reply by text or email.
Ready to try it yourself? Start a GoHighLevel account here.
You can also see this in action in our GoHighLevel capabilities demo.