Client Intake Checklist

The intake specialist records full legal name, DOB, contact info, referral source, and a one-line description of the legal issue in Lawmatics or Clio Grow. Capture all related entities and adverse-party names now — these feed the conflicts search.

Confirm the matter is within the firm's practice areas and a state where a responsible attorney is licensed. For PI inquiries, observe the 30-day post-incident solicitation rule under your state's Rule 7 analog before any outbound contact.

If the firm is declining, send a written non-engagement letter that clearly states no attorney-client relationship is formed, advises the prospect to consult other counsel before any deadline expires, and references the applicable statute of limitations if known. Save a copy to the declined-leads file.

Inspect a driver's license, passport, or other government-issued photo ID and save a copy to the prospective-client folder. For entity clients, capture the signatory's authority (corporate resolution, operating agreement) in addition to personal ID.

The attorney records the chronology, identifies the cause of action or transactional posture, names every party (client, opposing, witnesses, related entities), and notes the client's desired outcome. This memo becomes the basis for the conflicts search and the engagement-letter scope.

Missed SOL is the textbook automatic-malpractice scenario. Record the SOL date in the PMS docket, in Outlook, and on a paper note in the file — three independent surfaces. Set 90-, 30-, and 7-day ticklers for the responsible attorney and a second attorney.

The paralegal searches the conflicts database (Clio Conflicts, IntApp Open, or equivalent) for the prospective client, opposing parties, witnesses, related entities, and key non-parties. Search current matters, former-client files, and lateral-attorney prior-firm conflicts under Rule 1.9 and 1.10 imputation.

The managing partner decides: decline the matter, request a written waiver under Rule 1.7(b), or implement an ethical screen for an imputed conflict under Rule 1.10. Document the decision and the reasoning in the conflicts log.

Match the fee structure to the practice area: hourly with evergreen retainer for litigation, flat fee for incorporation or estate planning, contingency for PI (state-mandated maximum percentages apply), hybrid for some commercial matters. The structure drives the engagement-letter template.

Use the practice-area template in HotDocs or Lawyaw. Spell out scope of representation, fee structure, retainer amount, billing cycle, costs handled outside the fee (filing fees, experts, transcripts), communication terms, file-retention period, withdrawal rights, and fee-dispute resolution. Tight scope language is the defense against scope creep.

Accept the retainer via ACH, wire, or check made out to the firm's IOLTA. Credit card retainers require a processor that segregates fees from principal (LawPay or equivalent) so chargeback fees never come out of the trust balance.

Deposit unearned funds to the firm's IOLTA trust account under Rule 1.15 — never the operating account. Record the deposit against the client's individual trust ledger in the PMS so the three-way reconciliation will balance at month-end.

Create the matter in Clio, MyCase, Smokeball, or the firm's PMS. Assign matter number, billing matter, fee structure, responsible attorney, working attorneys, paralegal, and originating attorney for compensation purposes. Link the trust ledger and the conflicts record.

Create the matter workspace in NetDocuments, iManage, or SharePoint with the standard folder template — Pleadings, Correspondence, Discovery, Research, Billing, Client Documents, Engagement. Apply the ethical-screen access list when the matter requires one.

Docket SOL, response deadlines, hearing dates, contract deliverables, and the first substantive-action tickler using CalendarRules or the PMS docket. Layer reminders at 90, 30, 7, and 1 day to the responsible attorney and a second attorney for two-attorney calendar discipline.

The responsible attorney walks the working attorneys, paralegal, and legal assistant through the facts, legal theory, opposing counsel posture, immediate deadlines, and budget. Assign the first task with a due date before the meeting ends.