# Law firm client intake Coordinate a prospective-client inquiry through conflicts, engagement approval, matter opening, and accepted or declined closeout. > This public artifact is plaintext. After import, readable project content is encrypted on your device; operational metadata such as identifiers, relationships, priority, state, timing, and counts remains visible to the service. > This template is general operational guidance, not legal, medical, tax, security, employment, compliance, or other professional advice. It does not establish compliance, and its publication is not evidence of outside professional review or approval. Review and adapt it with the responsible organizational owners, and obtain appropriate professional advice before regulated use. **Template ID:** law-firm-client-intake-checklist **Template version:** 1 **Source:** https://sealtask.com/templates/law-firm-client-intake-checklist/ **Reuse license:** https://sealtask.com/terms/#public-templates **Planning anchor:** Target matter-opening date — The date an accepted matter should be operationally ready; review and engagement gates are scheduled before it. ## Inquiry Establish a neutral intake record, ownership, response timing, and minimum inputs. - [ ] **Immediately route potential deadline or emergency issues** — Urgent priority On receipt, if an inquiry may involve an urgent deadline or emergency issue, use the firm’s approved immediate intake procedure and do not wait for the target matter-opening date or this task board. - [ ] Firm-authorized immediate-response owner is alerted - [ ] Required status is recorded in the approved intake system - [ ] **Create a neutral intake reference** — High priority · Due 7 days before the planning anchor Create the authoritative inquiry in the approved intake system and use only its neutral reference for operational coordination here. - [ ] Authoritative intake record is created - [ ] Operational checklist uses a neutral reference - [ ] **Assign the intake owner and response target** — Medium priority · Due 7 days before the planning anchor Name the coordinator accountable for routing the inquiry and set the next-response deadline under the firm’s service expectations. - [ ] Intake owner has accepted the handoff - [ ] Next-response target is recorded - [ ] **Confirm minimum intake inputs in the source system** — High priority · Due 6 days before the planning anchor Verify that the approved system contains only the information required to route conflict review and the initial fit decision. - [ ] Required routing inputs are present - [ ] Unnecessary sensitive detail is not requested ## Conflicts Route the inquiry through the firm-authorized conflict search and decision path. - [ ] **Submit the authorized conflict search** — High priority · Due 6 days before the planning anchor Route approved names and relationships through the firm’s conflict system without copying search terms or results into this checklist. - [ ] Search scope follows the firm-approved process - [ ] Search is recorded in the authoritative conflict system - [ ] **Route any conflict escalation to the decision owner** — High priority · Due 5 days before the planning anchor If the authorized search identifies an issue, assign it to the designated lawyer or committee and pause downstream opening work. - [ ] Authorized conflict decision owner is named - [ ] Opening work remains paused until a decision exists - [ ] **Record the conflict gate outcome** — High priority · Due 4 days before the planning anchor Confirm only that the authoritative conflict process produced an outcome and that any conditions have accountable owners elsewhere. - [ ] Outcome is preserved in the authoritative system - [ ] Any approval conditions have accountable owners ## Engagement decision Confirm fit, capacity, terms, approvals, and the authoritative acceptance decision. - [ ] **Confirm fit, capacity, and jurisdiction review** — High priority · Due 4 days before the planning anchor Route the prospective matter to the responsible lawyer for the firm-specific fit, capacity, and jurisdiction decision. - [ ] Responsible lawyer records the authoritative decision - [ ] Fit, capacity, and jurisdiction outcome is recorded - [ ] **Approve engagement terms and commercial setup** — High priority · Due 3 days before the planning anchor Coordinate the firm-authorized scope, rates, billing arrangement, required approvals, and engagement-document owner in source systems. - [ ] Terms have the required authoritative approvals - [ ] Engagement-document owner is named - [ ] **Confirm signed terms and formal acceptance** — High priority · Due 1 day before the planning anchor Verify in the document and billing systems that required terms, signatures, deposits, or other firm conditions are complete. - [ ] Required signed record is complete - [ ] Formal acceptance is authorized under firm policy ## Open or close Open an accepted matter with minimum access or complete the approved decline path. - [ ] **Create the authoritative matter record** — High priority · Due on the planning anchor Open the accepted matter in the practice-management and document systems with the approved identifiers, ownership, and classifications. - [ ] Official matter record and identifier exist - [ ] Responsible lawyer and operational owner are recorded - [ ] **Provision minimum matter access** — High priority · Due on the planning anchor Grant only the access required for assigned work and confirm that ethical walls or other firm restrictions are applied by authorized owners. - [ ] Access is limited to current responsibilities - [ ] Required restrictions are confirmed in source systems - [ ] **Schedule the first accepted-matter step** — Medium priority · Due 1 day after the planning anchor Schedule the first meeting or deliverable in approved systems and assign preparation without copying substantive client detail here. - [ ] First accepted-matter step is scheduled - [ ] Preparation tasks have accountable owners - [ ] **Complete the approved decline closeout when applicable** — High priority Promptly after a decline decision, confirm authoritative notice, record disposition, access removal, and retention or deletion actions under firm policy; do not wait for the target opening date. - [ ] Authoritative notice status is recorded - [ ] Required record and access handling is complete ## Done Verified intake work moves here after its authoritative outcome is recorded. _Move completed work here._ --- Source: https://sealtask.com/templates/law-firm-client-intake-checklist/ License: https://sealtask.com/terms/#public-templates Privacy notice: This public artifact is plaintext. After import, readable project content is encrypted on your device; operational metadata such as identifiers, relationships, priority, state, timing, and counts remains visible to the service. Usage notice: This template is general operational guidance, not legal, medical, tax, security, employment, compliance, or other professional advice. It does not establish compliance, and its publication is not evidence of outside professional review or approval. Review and adapt it with the responsible organizational owners, and obtain appropriate professional advice before regulated use. Template version: 1