Client Intake Checklist

Intake is the point at which most of the avoidable problems on a matter are either prevented or created. A conflicts search that was run but never recorded, a fee basis explained verbally and never confirmed, an instruction taken from someone who turns out not to have authority - each is cheap to get right at the start and expensive afterwards.

This checklist covers the five areas an intake needs to establish before substantive work begins. It is deliberately general; your jurisdiction, practice area and firm procedures will add to it.

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How to use the client intake checklist

Work through identity and conflicts before discussing the matter substantively.
Record the client’s account in their own words before shaping it into a legal analysis.
Confirm the fee basis and the estimate in writing, not only in conversation.
Download the completed checklist to keep with the file as a record of the intake.

What people use this for

Onboarding a new client consistently across a practice.
Making sure conflicts are searched and the result is recorded.
Establishing the fee basis before work rather than after it.
Handing intake to a colleague or an assistant with the standard visible.

Record the conflicts result, not just the search

A conflicts search that was performed but never documented is, for every practical purpose that matters later, a search that was never performed. The record is what demonstrates the check happened, what was searched, and what the result was.

It also matters that the search covered the right names. Related entities, former names, trading names and the individuals behind a corporate client are all frequently missed, and a search that missed them is a search that found nothing for the wrong reason.

Authority to instruct is an early question

Who can give instructions is straightforward for an individual client and considerably less so for a company, a partnership, a trust or a group of family members with different views.

Establishing it at intake - and recording it - prevents the situation where work has been done on the instruction of someone who turns out not to have been able to give it. That is a conversation nobody wants to have retrospectively.

Expectations are part of intake

Most client dissatisfaction is about pace and communication rather than outcome. A client who was told at the outset that a stage typically takes three months, and who receives an update when nothing has happened, is a different client from one left to wonder.

Setting the reporting cadence at intake costs nothing and removes the most common source of friction later.

Methodology and assumptions

What this calculator does, and what it deliberately does not do.

The checklist is a general intake sequence. It does not reflect any jurisdiction’s conduct rules, identity verification requirements or regulatory obligations.
Progress is stored in your browser using local storage. Nothing is uploaded and clearing site data removes it.
The tool performs arithmetic or date counting on the values you enter. It does not interpret a rule, a statute or a contract.
Nothing you type is transmitted or stored - the calculation runs entirely inside your browser.

This website provides general informational and productivity tools and does not provide legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship.

The date and deadline tools count days exactly as you instruct them. They do not interpret court rules, statutes of limitation, filing requirements or any other legal authority, and they do not know the rules of your jurisdiction.

Always verify any date, fee, or calculation against the governing rule, the court calendar and your own professional judgement. If you need legal advice, consult a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction.

Frequently asked questions

Is client information I type stored anywhere?

Only what you tick, and only in your own browser. This tool has no server-side storage. In practice, keep client details in your practice management system rather than in the notes field.

Does this cover identity verification requirements?

It flags that verification must be completed to your firm’s standard. What that standard is depends on your jurisdiction and on anti-money-laundering obligations that differ considerably between them.

Should intake happen before or after the conflicts check?

Collect enough to run the conflicts search first, and hold substantive discussion until it clears. Taking detailed confidential information from a party you cannot act for creates its own problem.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is a productivity checklist and does not provide legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship.

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