A law firm matter intake workflow takes a new enquiry from first contact to an authorised, properly set up matter. When intake is informal, facts sit in personal inboxes, due diligence is chased after work has started, and nobody can show when the client received costs information. A defined workflow gives the firm one record for each enquiry, clear stop points for checks, and a clean handoff to the team that will do the work.
This guide is written for firms regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own courts, procedure rules and legal regulators. A US version of this guide, built on the ABA Model Rules and US engagement letter practice, is in our US matter intake guide.
What should happen when a new enquiry arrives?
Give every enquiry a temporary intake ID and a visible status: received, client checks, conflict review, terms pending, declined or opened. An automatic acknowledgement should confirm receipt only. It should not suggest that the firm has agreed to act.
At first contact, collect only what you need to run conflicts and decide whether to take the matter. Ask enquirers not to send documents yet. Anything received before the conflict check is information the firm may later have to protect.
Check who is giving the instructions. Paragraph 3.1 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors says: "You only act for clients on instructions from the client, or from someone properly authorised to provide instructions on their behalf." Record both the client and the person instructing, and how that person's authority was confirmed.
Which details belong in the intake form?
Make the form conditional on matter type. A dispute needs the court, claim number, parties and any served documents. A transaction needs the target, counterparties, lenders and group companies.
| Intake area | Minimum record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Client | Legal name, other names, entity type, company number | Identification and conflict search |
| Person instructing | Name, role, authority | Code paragraph 3.1 and MLR regulation 28(10) |
| Related parties | Opponents, affiliates, insurers, co-defendants | Feeds the conflict search |
| Matter outline | One neutral sentence, requested work, forum | Routing, scope and whether the MLRs apply |
| Reported dates | Service date, hearing, completion date, and who reported it | Urgency triage, not a verified diary entry |
| Funding | Who pays, and source of funds where relevant | Costs terms and AML risk |
| Sensitivity | Privileged material, special category data | Access controls from day one |
Use structured party fields, not a free-text story. A name buried in a paragraph will not reach the conflict search. Keep the spelling as entered and add aliases alongside it. Review who can see intake records as part of any security review of your systems.
How do client identification and AML checks fit into intake?
Two different duties apply, and the intake form should keep them apart.
Identification for every matter. Paragraph 8.1 of the Code says: "You identify who you are acting for in relation to any matter." This applies whatever the work type.
Customer due diligence for in-scope work. The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 apply to an "independent legal professional" as defined in regulation 12(1): a firm or sole practitioner providing legal or notarial services "when participating in financial or real property transactions" concerning matters such as buying and selling real property or business entities, managing client money or assets, opening or managing bank accounts, organising contributions for companies, and creating, operating or managing trusts, companies and similar structures. Your intake form should ask the questions needed to decide whether a matter falls in scope, and a named person should record that decision.
When the Regulations apply, the key steps are:
| Step | Regulation | What the firm records |
|---|---|---|
| When CDD is triggered | Reg 27 | Triggers include establishing a business relationship, an occasional transaction of £12,000 or more, suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing, or doubts about earlier ID |
| Identify and verify the customer | Reg 28(2) | ID evidence, and the purpose and intended nature of the relationship |
| Corporate customer | Reg 28(3) | Name, company number, registered office and principal place of business |
| Beneficial owner | Reg 28(4) | Identity, reasonable verification, ownership and control structure |
| Person acting for the customer | Reg 28(10) | Authority, identity and verification |
| Timing | Reg 30(2) | Verification completed before the relationship is established, unless an exception applies |
| Enhanced due diligence | Reg 33(1) | Why the case is high risk and what extra measures were taken |
Regulation 28(12) says the extent of the measures must reflect the firm's own risk assessment under regulation 18(1) and its view of the risk in the particular case, and "may differ from case to case." Regulation 33(1) requires enhanced due diligence in listed situations, including any case the firm has identified as high risk, a business relationship with a person established in a FATF call for action country, a customer who is a politically exposed person or a family member or known close associate of one, a customer who has provided false or stolen identification documents and with whom the firm proposes to continue, and unusually complex or unusually large transactions or those with no apparent economic or legal purpose.
Due diligence does not stop at opening. Regulation 28(11) requires ongoing monitoring of the business relationship, including scrutiny of transactions, and where necessary the source of funds, to check they fit what the firm knows about the client.
For practical guidance, the SRA points firms to the Legal Sector Affinity Group Anti-Money Laundering Guidance for the Legal Sector 2025. The SRA says this guidance "has been approved by HM Treasury" and that the latest revision "takes effect from 23 April 2025."
Where does the conflict check fit in matter intake?
Run the conflict search before any substantive work and before the enquiry is shared beyond the people assessing it. Feed every party field into the search: former names, parent and subsidiary companies, and key individuals.
The Code sets the test. Paragraph 6.2 says you do not act where you have a conflict of interest or a significant risk of one, unless the clients have a substantially common interest or are competing for the same objective, and all the clients have given informed consent, "given or evidenced in writing", any needed safeguards for confidential information are in place, and you are satisfied it is reasonable to act for all of them. Paragraph 6.3 says: "You keep the affairs of current and former clients confidential unless disclosure is required or permitted by law or the client consents."
A search hit is evidence, not a decision. Record who reviewed it, the outcome, any conditions and the date. Our UK conflict check process guide covers the search and the decision record in detail.
What must the client be told when the firm is engaged?
The Code does not prescribe the format of an engagement letter, but it does set what the client must receive.
| Requirement | Code of Conduct for Solicitors | What to include |
|---|---|---|
| Information the client can understand | Para 8.6 | Services, how the matter will be handled, options |
| Costs | Para 8.7 | "the best possible information about how their matter will be priced" and the likely overall cost |
| Complaints | Para 8.3 | In writing at the time of engagement: right to complain, how and to whom, Legal Ombudsman rights |
| Who acts | Para 8.1 and 3.1 | Client identity and who may give instructions |
Paragraph 8.7 is not a one-off duty. It applies "both at the time of engagement and when appropriate as their matter progresses," so build a costs update step into the matter plan, not just the opening letter.
Firms also have website duties under the SRA Transparency Rules. Rule 1.1 requires a firm that publishes the availability of listed services, such as residential conveyancing and uncontested probate for individuals, to publish cost information on its website. The rules also require the firm's complaints procedure, its SRA number and the SRA's digital badge to be published on its website. Check that your intake terms match what the website says.
Consumer clients. Where a retainer with a consumer is a distance or off-premises contract, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 are relevant. Regulation 4 defines a consumer as "an individual acting for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside that individual's trade, business, craft or profession." Regulation 29 gives a right to cancel within the cancellation period, which for a service contract ends 14 days after the day the contract is entered into under regulation 30(2). Under regulation 36(1), the trader must not begin the service before that period ends unless the consumer has made an express request, and for an off-premises contract the request must be on a durable medium. Record any express request on the file.
How should money on account be handled?
The SRA Accounts Rules treat money held "in respect of your fees and any unpaid disbursements if held or received prior to delivery of a bill for the same" as client money under rule 2.1(d). Rule 2.3 requires client money to be paid promptly into a client account, subject to limited exceptions. Rule 4.1 says: "You keep client money separate from money belonging to the authorised body."
At intake, record the amount requested on account, who is paying it and when it arrived. Link the intake workflow to your accounts procedures rather than repeating them.
What does matter opening and file setup include?
Opening is a controlled step, not a side effect of someone starting work. Create the permanent matter number, the workspace and access groups, the folder structure and the named roles in one action, from the approved intake record.
A useful handoff pack includes:
- the confirmed client name and matter name;
- the agreed scope, exclusions and who may give instructions;
- the conflict clearance and any conditions;
- the AML scope decision and due diligence record, where relevant;
- the costs information and complaints information sent;
- verified deadlines and their sources;
- any preservation instructions; and
- the next action, owner and due date.
First deadlines need verification, not copying. A date reported by the client is a lead, not a diary entry. For example, under CPR 15.4(1), the general rule is that the period for filing a defence is "14 days after service of the particulars of claim" or, if the defendant files an acknowledgment of service under Part 10, "28 days after service of the particulars of claim." The responsible solicitor should confirm the service date and any agreed extension before the date goes in the diary. If evidence may be at risk, see our UK litigation hold process. If the first task is research, our UK legal research memo template gives the team a source-checked starting format.
How should declined and dormant enquiries be closed?
Record the outcome, the decision-maker, the date and what was sent to the person. A short written confirmation that the firm is not acting avoids later doubt about whether a retainer exists. Keep the reasons in a restricted field. Keep the party names in the conflict database so future searches can find them, and apply your retention policy to any documents that arrived anyway.
Set a review date for dormant enquiries so nothing stays pending forever. If the person returns later, rerun identification, due diligence, conflicts and terms rather than relying on the old record.
How can a firm test whether intake works?
Each month, sample opened, declined, urgent and reopened enquiries. Look for proof that each gate happened before the next step.
- Every opened matter has a traceable intake and approval record.
- Every in-scope matter shows due diligence completed before the relationship was established.
- High-risk matters show the enhanced measures taken and who approved them.
- Costs and complaints information was sent at the time of engagement.
- Money on account went to client account.
- Reported deadlines are separated from verified ones.
- Declined enquiries have a close date and a restricted reasons field.
- Access to intake data matches current roles.
Intake also sits alongside other firm legal workflows, such as conflicts, diary management and billing, so test the handoffs between them as well as each step. Gotham lets UK legal teams research UK case law and legislation, review contracts at scale and draft in Word, in one workspace, and every answer cites the passage it relies on. Data for UK customers is stored in the United Kingdom, and you can talk to our team or read more about our work with UK legal teams.
Questions about matter intake for UK law firms
Do solicitors have to identify every client?
Yes. Paragraph 8.1 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors says you identify who you are acting for in relation to any matter. Separately, where the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 apply to the work, regulation 28 requires the firm to identify and verify the customer, take reasonable measures to verify any beneficial owner, and assess the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship.
Which legal work is covered by the Money Laundering Regulations?
Regulation 12(1) covers firms and sole practitioners providing legal or notarial services when participating in financial or real property transactions concerning, among other things, buying and selling real property or business entities, managing client money or assets, opening or managing bank accounts, organising contributions for companies, and creating, operating or managing trusts, companies and similar structures. The Legal Sector Affinity Group guidance, approved by HM Treasury, explains how this applies in practice.
What costs information must a client receive at the start of a matter?
Paragraph 8.7 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors requires that clients receive the best possible information about how their matter will be priced and, both at the time of engagement and when appropriate as the matter progresses, about the likely overall cost and any costs incurred. Paragraph 8.3 requires written information at the time of engagement about the right to complain, how to complain and any right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman.
When must client due diligence be completed?
Regulation 30(2) of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 says the identity of the customer, any person acting on its behalf and any beneficial owner must be verified before the business relationship is established or the transaction is carried out, subject to the limited exceptions in regulation 30(3) and (4).
