Research

Do inquiries rise and fall with the seasons?

Inquiries to law firms in each calendar quarter compared with the average quarter, after taking out growth. The swing is small. Free CSV and JSON.

Last checked October 27, 2026 by our data desk

Inquiries hold steady through the year. In the Probative benchmarks, after taking out overall growth, inquiries in the first calendar quarter are 100–110% of the average quarter, the second quarter is 90–100% and the third quarter is 100–110%.

Probative benchmarks, 2025–2026

Seasonality: inquiries by calendar quarter

What is measured	Published figure
Inquiries in the first calendar quarter, compared with the average quarter	100–110%
Inquiries in the second calendar quarter, compared with the average quarter	90–100%
Inquiries in the third calendar quarter, compared with the average quarter	100–110%

Values are rounded and protected as the methods page describes. A band or tier is approximate, plus or minus one step. How each is measured.

What does this mean for your firm?

Do not plan around a slow season that is not there. Keep intake staffed through the whole year.
When inquiries fall, look at your own marketing first: budgets, rankings, tracking and answer rates.
Compare a quarter with the same quarter last year, not with the quarter before, if your firm is growing.

How was growth taken out?

Inquiries were rising over the period, so a plain comparison would make later quarters look busier. Each month was compared with the overall growth trend first, and the quarters were then compared with each other. The fourth quarter is in the downloadable file.

How do I read this table?

Each row is inquiries in one calendar quarter, as a percent of the average quarter, shown as a ten-point band. All practice areas are combined. Time is shown only as calendar quarters, never as dates.

The figures are bands, so treat each as approximate. How the benchmarks are made and protected.

Download this table and cite it

Seasonality: inquiries by calendar quarter CSV JSON

Each table is its own file. Free, with no email or login, under CC BY 4.0: copy and adapt it with credit to Probative Growth.

Cite this dataset: Probative Growth (2026). Probative benchmarks, 2025–2026 (v4.0.1) [Data set]. CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23735849. https://probativegrowth.com/research/benchmarks/quarterly-demand/

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<iframe src="https://probativegrowth.com/embed/benchmark/quarterly-demand/" title="Seasonality: inquiries by calendar quarter" width="100%" height="420" style="border:1px solid #ddd2bd;" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:12px;margin:4px 0 0">Source: Probative Growth, <a href="https://probativegrowth.com/research/benchmarks/" rel="nofollow">Probative benchmarks, 2025–2026</a>, DOI <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23688755" rel="nofollow">10.5281/zenodo.23688755</a>. CC BY 4.0.</p>

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Table code (HTML)

<table border="1" cellpadding="6" style="border-collapse:collapse;font-size:14px;max-width:100%">
<caption>Seasonality: inquiries by calendar quarter</caption>
<thead><tr><th scope="col">Measure</th><th scope="col">Band or tier</th></tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr><th scope="row">Inquiries in the first calendar quarter, compared with the average quarter</th><td>100–110%</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Inquiries in the second calendar quarter, compared with the average quarter</th><td>90–100%</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row">Inquiries in the third calendar quarter, compared with the average quarter</th><td>100–110%</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="font-size:12px;margin:4px 0 0">Source: Probative Growth, <a href="https://probativegrowth.com/research/benchmarks/" rel="nofollow">Probative benchmarks, 2025–2026</a>, DOI <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23688755" rel="nofollow">10.5281/zenodo.23688755</a>. CC BY 4.0.</p>

How each figure is made and protected · Probative benchmarks, 2025–2026

Published by Probative Growth, a marketing agency for law firms. See our services and pricing.

Questions firms ask

Is there a slow season for law firm inquiries?

Not much of one. After taking out overall growth, every calendar quarter sits within a narrow band of the average quarter. A dip in one month is more likely to come from your own marketing than from the season.

Should a law firm cut its budget in a slow quarter?

Look at your own signed clients by month first. The benchmark shows only a small seasonal swing, so a large drop in your numbers usually has another cause worth finding.

Sources

Probative benchmarks, 2025–2026: how each figure is made and protectedAccessed October 27, 2026

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