What is Intake in a Legal Context?
Intake is a standard concept in almost every context of law, in the same way that it is in the corporate world. In legal terms, intake generally refers to the process a law firm uses to screen a potential client or matter. The intake process can be the first contact a firm or solo practitioner has with a potential client, and thus, can have a significant impact on whether or not the firm will accept the case.
The concept of intake might seem like common sense to those who are new to the law, or have seen the process from the inside, but for those without experience in outreach, it is a completely foreign concept. With that in mind, here are some points to consider when developing an intake process that may or may not be in place.
- A qualified prospect should be pre-screened before being handed to an attorney in your firm. This way, you can determine several important factors that will affect how the case will develop, such as the type of case it is, the firm’s level of expertise, and the firm’s availability.
- If an attorney is speaking to the prospect , they should be well-versed in your firm’s specialty areas so they can conduct a proper intake interview. You want to find out as much information as possible about the matter. Otherwise you could be wasting time, effort and money on a prospect that is at best, just curious about the outcome of a case and at worst, an opportunist trying to mine your firm for free advice.
- Another aspect of the intake process is evaluating the individual’s motives. This can be difficult to determine when prospects are just calling to figure out if they have a case at all. Ask them open-ended questions about their case, and listen to their responses. You should be able to tell if they are a deadbeat client who wants free advice, or if they really have a case.
Whether it’s face-to-face or over the phone, determine if you can appropriately service the matter. If not, recommend a lawyer who can. Sometimes prospects are just looking for a recommendation, and this lets you leave with the knowledge that you did everything you could to gain their business.
The Objective of Legal Intake
For any law firm, the purpose of intake processes is to not only enforce eligibility from prospects, but to use the interview to start the relationship with prospects and prepare for meetings with prospects. Legal intake is a preliminary step in legal matters; they’re routine for the lawyer and the prospective client. In one sense, intake is nothing more than an automated set of questions, where the answers are the building blocks for a foundation, the foundation of a legal case for a prospective client. As the legal definition of intake states, preparing and executing the legal intake process is in part to authenticate and validate the prospective client; the prospective client evaluation is there to determine what needs to be collected from the prospective client. It’s the first step in the contractual process and in establishing rapport with a prospective client.
Key Components of an Intake System in Legal Settings
A typical legal intake process involves several components. The process most commonly begins with a client questionnaire form. This form may be sent in by a prospective client via an online form on the law firm’s website, email, or postal mail. It may also be filled out by staff members over the phone with a prospective client. The client questionnaire is designed to be a brief (usually one page) questionnaire allowing prospective clients to describe their case in fifty words or less. A small number of the most important items are highlighted in bold text, such as: the prospective client’s name, email, telephone number, address, and is there any income (if yes, how much). If the prospective client is married, the spouse’s name, address, and income is usually also highlighted in bold text.
In the case of a slip and fall accident claim, some of the questions might focus on when and where the accident or injury occurred. If a contract dispute is involved, questions might focus on what contract is involved, when it is due, and how much money it will bring in. If the prospective client has an existing case number with the court that is already assigned to the case, this number will be listed.
Once the client questionnaire is reviewed and the salient points noted, the prospective client will normally be scheduled for a short staff interview, usually lasting no longer than 25-30 minutes (less time is usually required if the prospective client took the time to fill out the client questionnaire in advance). Staff members should know and be trained as to what to look for in the interview, often referred to as a "clue word", which can help you understand whether you can help the prospective client or not. For example, if your firm handles real estate closings primarily, then maybe all you want to do is residential real estate closings. If the prospective client states he or she needs legal help with a corporate or business transaction, then this would be a clue that the prospective client is probably not a good match for your firm. This is sometimes referred to as the "sweet spot" for legal intake parameters and boundaries.
If the matter is a good fit, the staff member will recommend adding the prospective client to the law firm’s intake calendar. This is usually done in the form of a group calendaring system on the computer, such as Outlook or a PDF-based calendaring system. A case number is assigned and filed away in the files (many firms now store their files electronically). The assigning of the case number will usually cause the case to be assigned to an attorney. The attorney assigned to the case will review the file, talk to other people in the firm involved with the matter (including paralegals, secretaries, and legal assistants), drop the documents being worked on into the document management system, and prepare to meet with the prospective client.
The next step in the process is usually to have the attorney meet with the prospective client. The purpose of this meeting is twofold: first, to make sure that the prospective client and attorney(s) will be a good fit, and also to determine whether this matter is more appropriately handled at this time at a different law firm within the firm’s network. If the prospective client is a good fit and the prospective client chooses to retain the law firm, the prospective client will be sent a right of rescission agreement and possible engagement letter specifying the terms and conditions of the relationship. If the prospective client decides not to retain the firm, your firm may still collect information from the prospective client for possible referral to other firms within the network (if applicable), and to "close the loop" on the process.
Common Pitfalls in Legal Intake
Despite the many advantages of legal intake for your law firm, there are a number of challenges you will face when integrating a new system into your practice. For example, you may experience challenges automating your legal intake workflow. Often times firms face challenges with existing staff members including the process of training new staff. Equally common, you may find that your staff is resistant to using a new system and either prefers to collect information the old way. These types of issues can result in long delays in implementing your new system. Once your new system is in place however, common legal intake struggles you will face with your intake system include gathering the necessary information like insurance declarations or other sensitive medical information. You may also need to deal with sensitive information and client emotions, especially if you are dealing with personal injury cases. Often times clients come to their lawyer during a period of grief or frustration and you are there to bring them comfort and relief. You may also find IT challenges as well, especially when you try and improve upon your current systems. Your old system might not support the new system you are trying to implement.
Making Legal Intake More Efficient
The legal intake process is one management task that can be improved upon to save valuable time and avoid miscommunication. The process of lead generation and vetting can involve a lot of needless human effort and, as a result, take up significant resources. Fortunately, there are many techniques and tools legal firms can use to streamline this process as much as possible.
Emails and other digital communications are a major source of legal leads. An article at The Lawyerist points out that when a law firm runs a Google pay-per-click ad campaign, it can attract a significant number of leads that need to be followed up on, pounced on immediately. In the past, this was the job of law firm employees without much automation.
However, times have changed, and for the better. Just as retail brands must use Customer Relationship Management systems for efficient lead handling, law firms have a similar requirement to use such tools. For example, LeadDocket is a CRM platform designed with legal leads in mind. It allows firms to capture leads from emails, forms, texts, phone calls, and chats. It also integrates with data sources like Capias, so that it can easily access case files, expedite vetting and reduce response time.
Law firms need to pre-qualify leads based on their services, whether they are family attorneys, personal injury lawyers or criminal defense firms. They must weed out leads that are not a good fit, and avoid wasting time with leads that are not likely to convert. For instance, many leads may be based on liability-only legal work, perhaps for transportation companies.
A good CRM platform like LeadDocket lets the attorney create custom lead qualification criteria so that leads are filtered at the initial contact point. This can save time following up with leads that are not a good fit . A law firm could eliminate leads that involve liability- or claims-related services not offered by the firm, and filter based on other criteria. Once filtered, the lead gets sent on to the appropriate attorney practice area automatically. Systems, like those from CallRail, allow firms to set in motion automated text and email responses to leads.
Some law firms make it a point to share a live chat system on their website that allows potential leads to connect via text. This is also doable in real time, as a text tool can clear out leads onto a spreadsheet for fast filtering, filtering all leads on a single screen, eliminating logjam. The responses and text analytics may be tracked for data-driven decision making in the future.
Nobody likes answering a ringing phone anymore. One of the best ways to streamline intake is to use automated scheduling applications like Acuity Scheduling and Zocdoc. These applications are tied into Google Calendars so that when a law firm employee becomes available, they can manage their schedule time and sync it to their calendars. These applications keep track of time zone availability, so that clients can get on the calendar without a lot of fuss.
Clients are not going to wait on a callback. When law firms don’t answer calls promptly, prospects will move on to the next number on their list. Law firms are turning to online answering services that can eliminate the need to hire a full-time receptionist. An automated service like Ruby, for instance, can patch through calls to attorneys after hours.
Law firms have to be ultra-responsive to time-zoned legal prospects. They need to create processes that deliver initial responses to prospects, so they don’t lose out on leads and qualified opportunities. Streamlining the intake process can save firms both time and money, while producing a lower bounce rate.
The Impact of Tech on Legal Intake Today
In today’s fast-paced legal environment, the role of technology in streamlining the intake process cannot be understated. With the advent of client management software and artificial intelligence (AI), law firms are no longer bound by a system that is as old as the legal profession itself.
Client management software can now handle everything from the initial point of contact to the final client onboarding. These systems are adaptable to the firm’s specific processes and help ensure that important details are not overlooked. Having this information at the team’s fingertips makes them more efficient and frees them up for higher-level, client-facing engagements.
AI technology has made even further inroads. There are now predictive analytics tools that give feedback on how well an intake specialist performs during an initial consultation. The system can evaluate a range of factors, from their tone of voice to their responses to handling challenging situations such as telling a potential client they can’t take their case.
AI intake systems have also evolved to the point where they can handle simple transactions without the need for a human being to be involved. Clients can enter their information in a prompt and straightforward way. Firms can then choose to reach out to clients based on their level of need or engagement with the system.
For example, AI can use chatbots to engage with clients interested in learning more about your firm’s services. A consumer sifted through the firm’s website to find your contact information and then fills out a request for a free consultation. The client hits Submit, and this initiates the chatbot. Consumers can have a back-and-forth conversation with the bot that helps to pre-qualify them for the case.
While the chatbot is taking in information, a human being can see it all happening in real time. They will then follow up with the prospective client more quickly than if they had to wait until the bot received the final submission. This frees up your intake agent to develop more leads into full-blown client cases, while the chatbot handles those inquiries that have raised to a certain level in urgency.
Technological advancements in the legal intake process have revolutionized the way firms attract, qualify, and sign new clients. It also gives a high degree of flexibility to the client who can engage on their terms, whether that is through a chatbot, web-based questionnaire, or direct conversation with a human being. AI and technology can modernize how intake works in your law firm.
Why Properly Executing Intake Matters
The effectiveness of a successful legal intake hinges on a few important things, but chiefly among them is the ability to quickly vet a potential client’s issue and determine if the firm will even be able to take the case. It’s a sad truth as seasoned legal marketers know, but in reality, there are far more bad cases out there than good ones. It is imperative for a law firm’s profitability and success to be able to quickly discern a potential client case’s level of severity, specific needs, and ultimately potential for a successful outcome. For this reason, it is especially important to have an effective intake process. Many people in the legal profession see "intake" as simply being about bringing new clients into the fold. That’s only partially true. A big part of intake needs to be about filtering out bad leads and poor "fits" that can end up costing the firm time and money as well as in lost opportunities with other, potentially more profitable cases or clients. With an effective intake process, legal marketing professionals and intake specialists can help you quickly determine if a case is feasible or worthwhile for your firm to pursue. Perhaps there’s good chemistry. Maybe the timing is bad for your firm. There is a multitude of reasons why the potential for new business is there, but the current day or time just isn’t right . With a proper intake template and process in place, your team can get the information they need to make these types of assessments quickly. It’s also important to realize that an intake process is not simply limited to phone calls or "first contact." In fact, the quality of lead captured can be even more important during other times of communication. Consider how many leads are sent in via your website’s live chat function or via email? Responding to these leads quickly and appropriately is essential and should be part of your overall intake strategy. Finally, having a robust intake process in place is beneficial for the firm on many different levels as well. For one, it can help you to better manage and organize your case files and leads for the purposes of cross-selling or upselling into other areas of need. A standard intake process will allow your team to easily see where strengths and weaknesses are and what clients can benefit from one area of law firm practice over another. This can give you a valuable insight into where new revenue could be generated and where additional attorney hours or paralegal time should be redirected. Having a solid intake process is something that everyone at your firm should utilize to ensure the best outcomes regarding cases, client satisfaction, ancillary revenue, and profitability. Defining and implementing your intake process may be the most important step you take as a firm.