Capture everything you need from a new client at the first meeting, and run a conflict check before any advice is given. Print it or fill it in on screen.
New Client Intake Form
1. Client details
2. The matter
3. Conflict check
4. Deadlines and court dates
5. Documents received
6. Fees discussed
8. Consent
- Client details for individuals and companies, including ID seen
- The matter: type, objectives and a summary of the facts
- A conflict-check section with sign-off
- Deadlines, court dates and limitation concerns
- Documents received and fees discussed
- Data-processing consent and signature
- 1Download the Word file and print it, or fill it in on screen.
- 2Complete it with the client at the first meeting.
- 3Run and sign off the conflict check before giving any advice.
- 4Note any deadline straight away, and open the matter file with the reference in section 7.
Who the client is (and, for a company, who can instruct you), how to reach them, what they want to achieve and the key facts. Above all, any deadline: a court date next week or a limitation period running out changes everything about how the matter is handled.
Before giving advice, check the opposing parties, their lawyers and anyone else involved against your existing clients and matters. Record who did the check and when. It protects the client and the firm.
Client intake collects personal data, so record the client’s consent to the firm holding and using it for the matter, and keep the form somewhere access-controlled rather than in a shared inbox.
Skip the spreadsheet
In The Counsel, a new client and matter are created in one go, with documents, deadlines and the assigned team in the same record from day one.
Can I add my firm’s logo?
Yes. It is a normal Word document; add your letterhead and edit any section.
Does it work for companies as well as individuals?
Yes. Section 1 covers both, including the RC number and the contact person for a company.
Where should completed forms be stored?
With the matter file, somewhere only the people working on the matter can see. In The Counsel, client records and documents are access-controlled by role.