Law firm client intake: a practical document checklist
Client intake is where most matters lose their first week. This is the working checklist — what to collect, in what order, and how to stop the file stalling on a missing ID or an unsigned engagement letter.
Why intake stalls
Intake rarely fails because a client refuses to cooperate. It fails because the ask is unclear, arrives as prose in an email, and has no visible progress. The client reads six requirements buried in a paragraph, sends two, and both sides lose track of the other four.
The fix is structural. Name every item separately, make each one individually trackable, and let the client see what is left. The list stops being a negotiation and becomes a progress bar.
The core intake checklist
Almost every matter needs the same five things: a signed engagement letter and fee agreement, photo identification, proof of current address, the documents specific to the matter, and contact details for anyone else involved.
Collect identity and the engagement letter first. Both are prerequisites — you cannot open the file without one and cannot bill against it without the other. Matter-specific documents can follow, because they are the items most likely to need a conversation.
Matter-specific additions
Conveyancing adds title documents, the contract of sale, rates notices and mortgage details. Family matters add financial disclosure, bank statements and any existing orders. Litigation adds prior correspondence, pleadings, contracts and evidence exhibits. Commercial work adds company records, constitutions and director identification.
Keep these as conditional items on one template rather than four separate checklists. The client sees only what applies to their matter, and your firm maintains one intake process instead of several drifting copies.
Client due diligence without a second round trip
ID and proof of address fail verification more often than any other item, usually because the scan is cropped, blank or a photograph of a screen. Every failure costs a full follow-up cycle.
Check the upload at the point it arrives rather than at review. Validating file type, page count and blank pages before the document reaches the fee earner removes the most common reason intake needs a second pass.
Making the follow-up automatic
Manual chasing is the hidden cost of intake. Set a reminder cadence once — email first, escalating to SMS for stragglers — and let it run per item, so a client who has sent four of six documents is only reminded about the two outstanding.
Reminders should stop the moment an item arrives. Nothing damages a new client relationship faster than being chased for a document they already sent.
Closing the loop
Intake is not finished when the documents arrive — it is finished when they are filed and findable. Mirror completed intake packs into your document management system automatically, organised by matter and client.
Keep the timestamped record of what was requested, when it was chased and when it arrived. That record is what a file review, a costs assessment or a complaint will ask for.
FAQ
- What documents should a law firm collect at client intake?
- At minimum: a signed engagement letter and fee agreement, photo identification, proof of current address, and the documents specific to the matter. Conveyancing, family, litigation and commercial matters each add their own items on top of that core set.
- How long should client intake take?
- With a clear checklist and automatic follow-up, most intakes complete within a few days. Intakes that stretch to weeks are usually stalled on one or two unclear items rather than on the client as a whole.
- Do clients need an account to submit intake documents?
- They should not. Requiring a signup is the single biggest drop-off point at intake. A tokenised portal link sent by email or SMS lets the client upload and leave without creating anything.
- How do you handle client due diligence at intake?
- Collect photo ID, proof of address and, where required, source-of-funds evidence as named items on the same checklist. Validate the uploads on arrival so unreadable or blank scans are caught before they reach the fee earner.
- Can one intake checklist cover every matter type?
- Yes, if it uses conditional items. Keep a single template where matter-specific sections appear only when relevant — the client sees a short list, and the firm maintains one process rather than several drifting copies.
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