‍“Through Litify, we’re able to run our firm like a high-performing business. We were proud to be named to the 2024 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies with over 1,000% growth in three years. I attribute a lot of that success, first to our team, but also to Litify and how our team is able to work in the platform to create the best client experience possible…” — John Richmond, Co-Founder & CEO, Richmond Vona

Richmond Vona is a plaintiff law firm headquartered in Buffalo, New York. The firm handles single-event personal injury and mesothelioma cases across the state. Their mission is to provide the best firm culture, client experience, and results in the field of personal injury law.

“When we looked at the client experience, we realized that to deliver the ultimate experience, we needed to have the best technology, the best case management platform, which is why, from a very early stage, we invested in Litify,” said John Richmond, Co-Founder & CEO of Richmond Vona.

The Richmond Vona team needed a flexible solution that could be tailored to their team and clients and that would enable them to run a data-driven practice. They needed Litify.

Life before Litify: Overcoming visibility challenges

Prior to adopting Litify, the firm felt like they were looking into an abyss.

While Richmond Vona had a prior system in place, it didn’t enable them to capture and track quality data, and they couldn’t configure the workflows and experience to how they wanted to deliver client service. It just felt like a one-size-fits-all product, not one that would help them achieve their goals.

The firm was only a year old, but John Richmond and his partner, Keith Vona, immediately saw the value in Litify. As soon as they had the resources — right after settling a big case — the duo decided to invest in the platform, knowing it would be the key to unlocking their growth and success. The rest, as they say, is history.

Life with Litify: Empowering the team and elevating the firm

Through Litify, Richmond Vona can run their law firm like a high-performing business. 

“We were proud to be named to the 2024 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies with over 1,000% growth in three years. I attribute a lot of that success, first to our team, but also to Litify and how our team can work in the platform to create the best client experience possible,” said Richmond. “What gets measured gets done, so whether it’s KPIs, overviews of litigation tactics, or how to get cases to settlement faster, we’re able to do it all in Litify — and ultimately make decisions that have really contributed to our growth.”

The team finally has the solution they need to deliver transparent, high-end client communication and ensure that they’re providing the best results in the most efficient manner possible.

Streamlining the intake process

A personal injury firm is only as good as the quality and volume of its new cases. This initial phone call also sets the tone for the rest of a client’s experience. Richmond Vona needed to provide their intake specialists with the tools to sign and convert cases quickly, and the head of the department needed real-time data and feedback in order to make effective decisions.

First, Litify’s robust analytics provided insight into lead and intake performance. Because Litify can capture and track data from digital marketing campaigns, Richmond Vona can review total lead volume, percentage of qualified leads, and how well those qualified leads get converted. They can also dig in further to assess how different lead sources are performing — by case type, cost, quality, or time to conversion — and to ensure a healthy, diversified mix of channels. As leads are converted into intakes, the team can continue to track each stage of the intake process (in the same platform!) and ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

From there, Richmond Vona worked with Litify to build dynamic intake questionnaires. These forms prompt the most important questions upfront to immediately assess qualification, and certain responses trigger a whole new set of questions. As a result, intake specialists are equipped to easily qualify a case within 20 minutes on the phone.

With real-time insights and dynamic intakes at their fingertips, the firm has maintained an intake conversion rate of over 90% since switching to Litify. 

Enhancing client communication through SMS automation

“People drop personal injury lawyers or form a bad opinion because of lack of communication,” Richmond noted. To combat this, Richmond Vona leverages the SMS Magic integration to automate reminders and touchpoints, drastically reducing missed appointments. Automated reminders for independent medical examinations (IMEs) cut missed appointments from 8% to under 2%, saving staff time and ensuring timely medical treatment.

Richmond Vona is also using SMS and email automations to enhance the onboarding process: “We send welcome texts within 24 hours after intake conversion, attorney introduction videos, appointment confirmations, and stage updates,” Richmond added. Litify triggers matter stage videos for every step, including investigation, treatment, demand, litigation, and settlement, which helps clients understand what to expect.

The firm also automates reminders for uploading medical records, submitting disability notes, and other case-critical tasks. Richmond emphasized, “It keeps everything on track, makes sure we’re getting lost wage reimbursement, and that people are actually going.”

Leveraging intake and conversion metrics for optimal ROI

Using Litify dashboards, the firm tracks KPIs in real-time across all roles, enabling everyone to collaborate and deliver the best client experience.

Lead optimization metrics

Richmond Vona relies on Litify dashboards to understand lead volume, lead sources, and conversion performance across the top of the funnel. “We want to know what’s coming in, where it’s coming from, and how well we’re converting it,” Richmond explains.

The team tracks:

• Total leads per month
• Lead source performance
• Speed to first contact
• Lead-to-qualified-case rate

These metrics help the firm predict staffing needs, refine marketing spend, and identify where in the process leads are slowing down.

Intake optimization metrics

Across the entire team, from intake specialists and case managers to paralegals and attorneys, Litify connects every KPI so each role’s performance ties directly into the next. 

As Richmond explained, “Legal assistants can’t meet their KPIs if paralegals aren’t meeting theirs, and attorneys aren’t meeting theirs. It’s all interconnected. People like to know where they stand, and Litify gives them that clarity.”

The firm is already seeing significant gains in their top intake KPIs, including:

• 95% conversion of qualified leads
• Average call duration under 20 minutes
• All leads resolved within 10 business days

Results that speak for themselves

The result of Richmond Vona’s legaltech transformation? A firm that operates like a well-oiled machine while delivering a superior client experience at every stage. 

Richmond Vona is seeing measurable, firm-wide benefits from streamlining workflows, enhancing client communication, and doubling down on data:

• 97% of qualified leads signed on the phone, allowing attorneys to focus on high-value work.
• Intake calls were reduced to under 20 minutes through dynamic questionnaires and scripting.
• Missed IME appointments dropped from 8% to under 2% with the use of automated SMS reminders.
• 98% SMS open rates and 90% read within 3 minutes, driving client responsiveness.
• Faster onboarding with automated welcome messages, attorney videos, and appointment confirmations.
• Increased Google reviews from personalized follow-up and compassion cards sent by intake specialists.
• Higher settlement values and faster case resolution, driven by KPI tracking across intake specialists, case managers, paralegals, and attorneys.
• More accountability and transparency for every team member, creating a culture of performance and continuous improvement.

As Richmond puts it, “With accountability, automation, and KPIs for team management, we’re able to measure what matters… and what gets measured gets done.”

‍Ready to streamline processes and dive into the data so you can deliver a better client experience? Schedule a free demo with our team to see how Litify can help.