Law Firm Matter Intake Workflow: A US Checklist From Inquiry to Open Matter

A law firm matter intake workflow takes a new inquiry from first contact to an approved, properly set up matter. When intake is informal, facts sit in personal inboxes, conflict searches run after work has started, and nobody can show when the fee terms were agreed. A defined workflow gives the firm one record for each inquiry, clear stop points for checks, and a clean handoff to the team that will do the work.

This guide is written for US firms. The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct are the common reference point, but each state adopts its own rules of professional conduct. Check the rule in force where the lawyer is licensed and where the work is done. A UK version of this guide, built on SRA rules and the Money Laundering Regulations, is in our England and Wales matter intake guide.

What should happen when a new inquiry arrives?

Treat the person as a prospective client from the first substantive contact. Model Rule 1.18(a) defines a prospective client as "a person who consults with a lawyer about the possibility of forming a client-lawyer relationship with respect to a matter." Duties begin at that point, before any engagement letter exists.

Two parts of Rule 1.18 shape the intake form:

• Confidentiality survives a decline. Under Rule 1.18(b), even when no client-lawyer relationship follows, the lawyer must not use or reveal what the prospective client said, except as Rule 1.9 would permit for a former client.
• Too much information can disqualify the firm. Under Rule 1.18(c), a lawyer who received information that "could be significantly harmful" to the prospective client may be barred from acting against them in the same or a substantially related matter, and the bar extends to the firm. One route around it, in Rule 1.18(d)(2), depends on the lawyer having taken "reasonable measures to avoid exposure to more disqualifying information than was reasonably necessary to determine whether to represent the prospective client," plus a timely screen and prompt written notice.

The practical lesson is simple: at first contact, collect only what you need to run conflicts and decide whether to take the matter. Tell inquirers not to send documents yet. The ABA's Formal Opinion 492 (June 9, 2020), titled "Obligations to Prospective Clients: Confidentiality, Conflicts and 'Significantly Harmful' Information," is worth reading when you design the form.

Give every inquiry a temporary intake ID and a visible status: received, client checks, conflict review, terms pending, declined or opened. An automatic acknowledgment should confirm receipt only. It should not suggest the firm has agreed to act.

Which details belong in the intake form?

Make the form conditional on matter type. A litigation inquiry needs the court, case number, parties and any served papers. A deal needs the target, counterparties, lenders and group companies.

Use structured party fields, not a free-text story. A name buried in a narrative 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 should the firm check who the client is and what the work is for?

The Model Rules do not set a checklist of identity documents. They do set the standard that intake has to meet. Rule 1.2(d) says a lawyer "shall not counsel a client to engage, or assist a client, in conduct that the lawyer knows is criminal or fraudulent." The current text of Rule 1.16(a) begins: "A lawyer shall inquire into and assess the facts and circumstances of each representation to determine whether the lawyer may accept or continue the representation." Under Rule 1.16(a)(4), the lawyer must not represent a client or prospective client who "seeks to use or persists in using the lawyer's services to commit or further a crime or fraud," despite the required discussion of the limits on the lawyer's help.

The ABA addressed this area in Formal Opinion 491 (April 29, 2020), "Obligations Under Rule 1.2(d) to Avoid Counseling or Assisting in a Crime or Fraud in Non-Litigation Settings." Read it alongside your own state's version of Rules 1.2 and 1.16.

An operational client-check step can record:

• Full legal name of the client entity, and the individual giving instructions.
• Who owns or controls an entity client, where that matters to the work.
• Who will pay, and how that person is connected to the client.
• What the client wants to achieve, in the client's words.
• Any facts that need a closer look, and who reviewed them.
• The decision: proceed, proceed with conditions, or decline.

Firm policy decides how far to go for each risk level. Write the policy down so the intake team applies it the same way every time.

Where does the conflict check fit in matter intake?

Run the conflict search before any substantive work and before the inquiry is shared beyond the people assessing it. Feed every party field into the search: former names, parents, subsidiaries and key individuals. Include past prospective clients, because Rule 1.18(c) can create a conflict from a consultation that never became a matter.

A search hit is evidence, not a decision. Record who reviewed it, what they considered, the outcome, any conditions such as a screen, and the date. Keep sensitive reasoning out of fields everyone can see. Our US conflict check process guide covers the search and the waiver steps in detail.

Make the gate hard: the intake cannot move to terms pending until a named reviewer has cleared it.

What should a US engagement letter cover?

Model Rule 1.5(b) requires that "the scope of the representation and the basis or rate of the fee and expenses for which the client will be responsible shall be communicated to the client, preferably in writing, before or within a reasonable time after commencing the representation." The exception is a regularly represented client charged on the same basis or rate. Changes to the basis or rate must also be communicated.

The Model Rule says "preferably" in writing. Some states require it. In New York, 22 NYCRR 1215.1 requires a written letter of engagement, or a signed written retainer agreement, explaining the scope of services, the fees, expenses and billing practices and, where applicable, the right to arbitrate fee disputes under Part 137. Section 1215.2 lists exceptions, including matters where the fee is expected to be less than $3,000. Check your own state before you rely on an oral agreement.

Limited-scope work needs extra care. Rule 1.2(c) allows a lawyer to limit the scope "if the limitation is reasonable under the circumstances and the client gives informed consent."

For contingent fees, Rule 1.5(c) is stricter than 1.5(b). The agreement "shall be in a writing signed by the client" and must state the method for calculating the fee, including the percentages for settlement, trial or appeal, the expenses to be deducted and whether they come off before or after the fee is calculated. Rule 1.5(d) bars contingent fees in certain domestic relations matters and for representing a defendant in a criminal case.

How should fee deposits and trust money be handled?

Model Rule 1.15(c) says a lawyer "shall deposit into a client trust account legal fees and expenses that have been paid in advance, to be withdrawn by the lawyer only as fees are earned or expenses incurred." Rule 1.15(a) requires client funds to be kept in a separate account, maintained in the state where the lawyer's office is situated or elsewhere with consent, and requires complete records. The Model Rule puts the record-keeping period in brackets, as "[five years]", because each state sets its own period. Trust accounting is regulated in detail at state level, so link the intake workflow to your accounting team's procedures rather than repeating them.

At intake, record the expected deposit, who is paying it and when it arrived. Do not open the matter for billable work until the terms are signed or otherwise approved under firm policy.

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:

1. the confirmed client name and matter name;
2. the agreed scope, exclusions and who may give instructions;
3. the conflict clearance and any conditions, such as a screen;
4. the responsible lawyer, team and billing contact;
5. the signed engagement letter and fee terms;
6. verified deadlines and their sources;
7. any preservation or litigation hold instructions; and
8. the next action, owner and due date.

First deadlines need verification, not copying. A reported date from the client is a lead, not a docket entry. For example, under FRCP 12(a)(1)(A)(i), unless a federal statute specifies another time, a defendant in federal court must serve an answer "within 21 days after being served with the summons and complaint." Different periods apply after a waiver of service, to the United States and in state court. The responsible lawyer should confirm the service date and the governing rule before the date goes on the calendar. If evidence may be at risk, see our US litigation hold process. If the first task is research, our US legal research memo template gives the team a source-checked starting format.

How should declined and dormant inquiries be closed?

Rule 1.16(a) lists situations where a lawyer must decline a representation. A firm can also decline for its own reasons. Either way, record the outcome, the decision-maker, the date and what was sent to the person. A short written non-engagement letter makes clear that the firm is not acting. Keep the reasons in a restricted field.

Remember Rule 1.18(b). Information from a declined prospective client stays confidential. 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 inquiries so nothing stays pending forever. If the person returns later, rerun client checks, 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 inquiries. Look for proof that each gate happened before the next step. If people bypass a step, find out why: a confusing field, an unavailable approver, or a system that cannot represent the work.

• Every opened matter has a traceable intake and approval record.
• No billable work was recorded before conflicts cleared and terms were agreed.
• Every engagement letter matches the scope of the opened matter.
• Contingent fee matters have a signed writing on file.
• Advance deposits went to the trust account.
• Reported deadlines are separated from verified ones.
• Declined inquiries 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, docketing and billing, so test the handoffs between them as well as each step. Gotham lets US legal teams research federal and state case law, the U.S. Code and federal regulations, review contracts at scale and draft in Word, in one workspace, and every answer cites the passage it relies on. Data for US customers is stored in the United States, and you can talk to our team or read more about our work with US legal teams.

Questions about matter intake at US law firms

Does a US lawyer need a written engagement letter?

Under ABA Model Rule 1.5(b), the scope of the representation and the basis or rate of the fee and expenses must be communicated to the client, preferably in writing, before or within a reasonable time after the representation starts. A contingent fee agreement must be in a writing signed by the client under Rule 1.5(c). Some states go further. New York's 22 NYCRR Part 1215, for example, requires a written letter of engagement or signed retainer agreement, with exceptions such as matters where the fee is expected to be less than $3,000.

What duties does a firm owe to a prospective client who never hires it?

Under Model Rule 1.18(b), a lawyer who learned information from a prospective client must not use or reveal it, except as Rule 1.9 would permit for a former client, even when no client-lawyer relationship follows. Rule 1.18(c) can also bar the lawyer, and the firm, from acting against that person in the same or a substantially related matter if the lawyer received information that could be significantly harmful to them, unless Rule 1.18(d) applies.

Do lawyers have to look into a new client before accepting the matter?

Model Rule 1.16(a) says a lawyer shall inquire into and assess the facts and circumstances of each representation to determine whether the lawyer may accept or continue it. The lawyer must not take on a matter if the client or prospective client seeks to use the lawyer's services to commit or further a crime or fraud, despite the discussion the rule requires about the limits on the lawyer's help.

Where should an advance fee deposit go?

Model Rule 1.15(c) says legal fees and expenses paid in advance go into a client trust account and may be withdrawn only as fees are earned or expenses incurred. Rule 1.15(a) requires client funds to be kept in a separate account, with complete records. Each state sets its own record-keeping period and trust account rules.