Perfecting the Law Firm Client Intake Process Using a Flow Chart

An Overview of a Client Intake Process

The client intake process is the ongoing approach used by law firms to qualify a prospect as a client, capture their information and inform them on how the attorney will handle their matter. It is used to lay the foundation for a successful attorney-client relationship that serves both individual parties involved and the firm itself .
With a strong client intake process, a law firm has a consistent approach to securing new clients, while carefully and promptly capturing individual case details. It also helps identify whether a new engagement is right for the practice, such as whether doing so would place an undue burden on the firm’s resources, whether it may present a conflict of interest and whether the prospect is the right cultural fit.

Advantages of Implementing a Flow Chart in Client Intake

The benefits of using a flow chart in the law firm client intake process shouldn’t be underestimated. By visually mapping out what steps are taken during the client intake process, six major advantages stand out.
First and foremost, when you visualize the client intake process you can create efficiencies in service delivery, which can maximize profit. When the client intake process is handwritten on paper, a firm’s ability to streamline the process is limited. Identifying where there are wasteful steps when the steps are written down is not as readily apparent as when you have a flow chart that you can analyze for efficiency.
Secondly, by visualizing the client intake process you can reduce errors. Handwritten client intake forms and paper processes are prone to errors. With multiple employees processing the forms, the same information can be entered into your systems multiple times. These errors can result in delays in getting paid and poor client service as the client is handed back and forth unnecessarily.
Thirdly, visualizing the client intake process results in consistency. When the process is documented it is much easier to follow the system. Everyone will have a roadmap on how to qualify leads, and what data to capture and when. When there are no clearly defined processes to follow you will only get consistency if everyone on your team follows the same process, and this does not happen naturally.
Another benefit is an improvement in training time. When the client intake process is mapped out in a flow chart, new employees can learn the process quickly as they have a visual interpretation of how the intake process works. For reference, when you hire an employee, the average law firm spends 10-20 hours training the employee on their processes. An employee that is quickly trained on how to implement the client intake process can spend more time doing the work assigned to them, and therefore become an asset to the company more quickly.
One of the other benefits of visualizing the client intake process is you can identify bottlenecks and talk to your team about how to improve your client intake. For example, some law firms struggle with internet leads. They don’t get back to the client in a timely manner. After you create a flow chart, you can see when and where you lost the opportunity to connect with a potential client. This is very valuable information to have so you can anticipate when a client will be contacting your law firm and be prepared to take their call.
The final benefit of visualizing the client intake process is that once you have a clear documented process to follow that you continue to improve the process. Over time there will be opportunities for process improvements, and by committing to consistently updating your flow chart you can continually tweak it for better efficiency.
Now you have a detailed understanding of the client intake process so as new opportunities arise you will have the information to determine whether they are worth your time and energy, or if you need to refer them to someone else or turn them away.
We know keeping track of KPIs is important to running a successful law firm. If you and your staff work together to design a flow chart you will be able to easily track client intake KPIs and spot problems before they become major problems. For example, you will be able to see how many leads were generated during the week, month, quarter, or year. You can also measure how many leads were disqualified.
If your firm has poorly defined processes you can’t measure what’s working and what’s not. By visualizing the client intake process you can rely on data to make informed decisions about how your firm should be handling client intake.
There are multiple benefits to taking time to map out your current law firm client intake processes.

Key Elements of a Law Firm Client Intake Flow Chart

Several elements are essential to a client intake flow chart:
Initial Contact
During or immediately following the initial contact with a prospective client, it is critical to schedule a follow-up meeting (or phone call) or some other form of method to revisit the prospective client at a future date or time. This is often called the "three call rule" or the "five call rule", meaning that the attorney or staff should attempt to obtain a meeting with a prospective client three or five times persistently. The goal is not be annoying or the equivalent of a telemarketer but to show that the firm is sincerely interested in the prospective client. The real estate adage of the right property for the right price at the right time is also applicable to the concept of client intake, so give it some time.
Information Gathering
In order to determine if the prospective client has a case that the firm wants to accept, it is important to gather extensive information from the prospective client. For personal injury, for example, consider the running list below:
To have these all ready at the initial meeting is a best practice to implement.
Conflict Check
Check for conflicts of interest as soon as possible if you are considering taking on a particular matter. Use the following checklist to be sure no conflicts exist that you may not already know about:
Engagement
Get your engagement letter signed a.s.a.p. Whether your firm charges a retainer, contingent fee, has an hourly fee or any combination of the three, you should get the engagement letter signed as soon as your firm decides to go ahead and accept the case.

Creating an Efficient Client Intake Flow Chart

The next step in the process is to determine how you will convey the process so that it is easy to understand and useful in practice. I have long been a fan of creating a flow chart of your law firm processes, including a flow chart of the client intake process. This is not a trivial undertaking. I like to do a "rough" flow chart and then go back and refine it. The goal is to create a flow chart that clearly communicates what the current process is and what future iterations of the client intake process will look like. I should be written clearly and in plain English. Avoid the use of multiple colors, fonts and complex symbols. The purpose of the chart is to explain your process.
I have seen a wide range of chart styles and one thing I can say is that it should be easily readable at a distance as well as up close. Keep in mind that you will need to make revisions as your process changes over time. I think this is also indicative of a poor chart. If it can’t be changed, it is not an effective one.
The first thing that I typically do when creating a flow chart is to identify the basic logical flow of the process. This makes it easier to feed the chart into an editing program.
The chart should be easy to edit. We use Lucid chart. There is a learning curve, but once you get started it is easy to customize. A lot of the programs out their are customizable. The idea is to allow someone other than the creator of the flow chart to be able to customize it as well. The flow chart should become part of your firm’s Knowledge Base or Library. It should be available to everyone in the firm who needs access to it.
Once you have the flow chart completed, it should be saved to both a shared and paperless file storage system so that you can continue to build a central repository for these types of documents and continue with an ongoing update of the firm’s processes.

Common Client Intake Issues and Solutions

While every law firm is unique, the client intake process itself often falls victim to certain risk factors that can impact overall productivity and efficiency.
Some of the most common challenges with the client intake process stem from: Many of these issues are the direct result of several areas of a law firm’s operations being poorly integrated. Without well-defined processes that are followed consistently , it’s nearly impossible for staff to manage the client intake process effectively. One potential solution to correct problems in the client intake process is to create a legal client intake process flow chart. A flow chart makes every step of the client intake process crystal clear. As a visual tool, a flow chart allows you to identify problems quickly and regularly assess the client intake process. As solutions occur to you, you can make adjustments to the flow chart to ensure the steps of the client intake process are functioning more smoothly.

Client Intake Flow Charts: Tools & Resources

The good news is that there are many tools available to help you create flow charts. The bad news is that there are over 50 options, from free to expensive.
Some companies include templates in their program. A template can make it easier to create flow charts. For example, if the source of the initial contact is one of the choices, you will have an easy way to create that part of your chart.
The bad news is the less expensive programs may not have templates. If you plan on using templates, read the program description carefully to find out if a template is included, or if you can purchase one separately.
Of the well-known tools, SmartDraw is one of the best.
Most of the free tools only allow you to save the flow chart as an image file (like JPEG). But some workarounds for getting the chart into Word so you can use textboxes and callouts. When choosing a free program, decide what you are going to do with the flow chart. If you just want to print it, it is fine to use the image file. If you want to edit it, you are going to need a tool that allows you to save the chart as a document.
There are two other considerations to keep in mind. First, how easy is the program to use? Are there videos? Are there templates available? Second, how easy is it to collaborate? Can you create sections and send them to other people within your firm for feedback? Can multiple people weigh in on designs?
For flow chart programs, customer reviews are especially important. Not only do you want to make sure other users found the program easy to use, you also want to make sure customer service was good. One person said their program took days for the company to respond when they wanted to know how to do something.
The same consideration should be considered for asset tracers. How easy is it to use? Are there any customer service issues? Can you collaborate?

Examples of Client Intake Flow Charts

The law firms that we’ve analyzed have relied on intake flow charts to improve client service and the overall client intake process.
Law firms that retain our services increase the client retention ratio by as much as 50 percent. Clients who are serviced properly will stay with you longer than those who are not.
We’ve listed a few real-world examples of law firm client intake flow charts:
Law Firm A is a personal injury firm that lacked a client retention orientation. As a result, a majority of his past clients had never been asked to give referrals. We simplified the referral process into a succinct step-by-step flow chart. It increased the quantity and quality of leads. Every client has been asked to submit referrals since the flow chart was introduced. Notably, this process requires no additional human resources. The firm has about 25 percent more referrals than before the flow chart.
Law Firm B is a personal injury firm that also lacked in its client retention. We prepared an original client intake script. This script was converted to a flow chart format. There was no original referral system. The firm posted the flow chart in each associate’s office so it could be viewed easily at any time by anyone. It shows the process of how to ask for and handle referrals. Cases have improved dramatically. It’s very important that it’s visible at all times. By not having to review the entire procedure, it’s easier for attorneys to ask for referrals. It’s also helping with client retention.
Law Firm C is a family law firm that was missing out on a lot of potential clients. The firm required a written retainer agreement with each client. Most of them were lengthy , legal documents. The clients generally did not know the retainer agreement was available in English. Wording of the retainer was cursive. That meant some clients could not even read it. They weren’t aware of what they were signing. It should be made crystal clear to clients what they are signing. That’s critical.
The flow chart we developed for our client eliminates the unnecessary. People are less intimidated by the new retainer agreement. The flow chart has pictures for non-English speakers. This new streamlined client intake process means law firm employees are aware of what clients see. It’s saved money on printing. Also, the firm can put a reprint logo on the front of the flow chart. The new retainer is now being sent to clients ahead of time. Law firm staff is trained to go over the new retainer agreement with clients. That makes it clear what they’re signing.
Law Firm D recently merged with another firm. Its cases had dwindled a bit. We tailored a flow chart process for the firm to follow. It helped ensure that the firm followed up with every lead. It also helped make the process more simple. Many of the firm’s previous clients were unaware they had merged with another firm. Once customers knew about the merger, they came back quickly. The firm is busier now that its clients know it’s still open for business.
Our experience has shown that the most important component of an effective law firm client intake flow chart is to be succinct.