Which intake questions does your firm really use?
For education only. Not legal advice. Tellbrief is not a law firm.
Before adding more questions to your form, look at what your team does with the answers it already receives.
Start with a few recent matters
Use your firm’s approved review process. Compare the intake questions with the preparation work for a few similar matters. Keep client material inside the firm’s permitted systems; do not send it to a new tool for this exercise.
Ask what each answer changes
Does the answer help the team route an inquiry, prepare a question or request a record? Is it needed now, or only after the firm has decided to proceed? Write down the reason beside each question. An answer nobody reads deserves a closer look.
Look for the questions asked twice
Repetition is not always waste. A lawyer may need to confirm an important detail. But if the first call starts by asking for every fact already supplied, check whether the answers are hard to find, too vague or missing from the lawyer’s preparation.
Allow an honest unknown
A founder may not know which documents were signed or who holds a record. Test whether the form lets them say that clearly. A forced answer can create more work when the lawyer has to untangle it later.
Measure the whole job
Count reading, corrections and follow-up, not just form completion. Try a change on a small set of comparable matters before changing the whole process. A shorter form is not better if it leaves the lawyer chasing basic facts.
Keep acceptance decisions separate
This is a form review, not a substitute for the firm’s conflict checks, engagement procedures or professional judgment. Agree those requirements before trialling any new intake tool. Tellbrief’s firm offering starts with a conversation about that fit, not an instant account.
Questions
Should we remove every repeated question?
No. Distinguish necessary confirmation from repetition caused by missing or hard-to-read answers.
What should a trial measure?
Compare preparation time, corrections, missing information and completion on similar matters. Agree what useful improvement would look like before starting.
Try it on your next three first calls
Your first three briefs are free. After them, your pilot report shows how many of those calls became paid work, next to your usual numbers, so you decide with your own results.
See how it works for lawyers →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.