Law firm intake form template for business clients
For education only. Not legal advice. Tellbrief is not a law firm.
An intake form for business clients has two jobs. It gives you the names to check for conflicts, and it gives you enough to start the first call on the client’s question.
Put the names first
Many firms check names before they read anything else. If yours does, make the names the whole first step: the client’s full name, the company’s legal name and any earlier names, the owners, and every person or company on the other side. Add anyone else with a stake, like an investor or a co-founder who isn’t on the call. If the same form also asks for the story, the firm holds that story whether or not it takes the matter.
Ask what’s changing, in a sentence or two
Once the names are cleared, ask why they’re calling now. A retailer sent terms, an investor wants to close, a former partner sent a letter. Then ask about timing: is there a deadline, who set it, and is it written down? A date the other side set reads very differently from one the client picked.
Get the business basics
The legal name and type of entity, the state it was formed in, where it operates, what it sells and who buys it, and roughly how long it has been running. Ask who owns it, with shares if they know them. Give every one of these a “Not sure” or “Not formed yet” choice. A founder who has to guess will guess, and you’ll spend part of the call untangling it.
Ask for a list of documents
What has been signed, by whom, and who holds the copy. A list is enough before the first call. If your process is to take documents only after you’ve agreed to take the matter, say so on the form, and say how they’ll send them when the time comes.
End with their question
Ask for the one question they most want answered on the call, and the result they’re hoping for. Their own question tells you where to start, and the rest of the form tells you what else to raise.
Leave these for later
Billing details, engagement terms, full histories and anything you need only after deciding to take the matter. Don’t ask for ID numbers, bank or card details, or passwords on a form sent before the first call. If a question’s answer won’t be read before the call, it can wait for the engagement letter.
Make it easy to finish
Use choices where the answers are predictable, and a text box where the client’s own words matter. Make it work on a phone, since that’s where most people open a link from a booking email. Say how long it takes and who will read it. A client who knows the lawyer reads the answers before the call writes better ones.
Send it at the right moment
Put the link in the booking confirmation, since nearly every new client opens it before the call. What to put in a consultation confirmation email has wording to copy. Ask for the answers back at least a day before the call, so there’s time to read them.
Know where the answers go
Keep the answers in a system your firm has approved for client information. Check who can see them, whether they’re encrypted, how long they’re kept and what happens to them if you decline the matter. If the form tool’s company can read the answers, or passes them to anyone else, your firm should know that before a client fills it in.
A template you can copy
- 1. Names: the client, the company’s legal name and earlier names, the owners, the other side, anyone else with a stake. Nothing else until they’re cleared.
- 2. What’s changing: why now, in their words. Any deadline, who set it and whether it’s written down. Whether a dispute has started.
- 3. The business: entity type and state, where it operates, what it sells and to whom, how long it has run, who owns it. “Not sure” on each.
- 4. Documents: a list of what exists, who signed it and who holds it. When and how to send them.
- 5. Their question: the one thing they want answered, and the result they want.
- Later: billing, engagement terms, ID numbers and anything else you need only once you’ve taken the matter.
Already have a form? Which intake questions does your firm really use? is a way to check the one you have. After the call, a first-call checklist covers the recap and next steps.
Questions
How long should an intake form be?
Long enough that the first call can start on the client’s question. If no one reads an answer before the call, move that question later.
Should the form ask about a dispute?
Ask whether one has started and whether there’s a deadline. If your firm checks conflicts first, hold the details until the names are cleared.
Can we use a general form builder?
Yes, if your firm has approved where it stores the answers. Check who can see them, how long they’re kept and whether they’re encrypted.
Should clients upload documents on the form?
Ask for a list first. Take the documents once you’ve decided to take the matter, through the channel your firm uses.
Try it on your next three first calls
Your first three briefs are free. Setup is one short call: you paste one line into your booking confirmation, and you see each client’s names before anything else.
For education only. This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it doesn’t make you anyone’s client. Tellbrief is not a law firm. For advice about your situation, talk to a licensed lawyer.