We ran a workshop for the HeyCounsel community on September 22. Members told us what intake actually costs them, what their current software gets wrong, and what they would want instead.

Collect only enough to route the inquiry, identify urgent deadlines, check for conflicts, and decide whether the matter fits. Detailed narratives and sensitive documents should wait until the firm has a secure process for requesting them.

Onboarding a new client takes 1 to 2 weeks at most firms, and it is where time, money, and clients quietly disappear before any billable work begins. The 6 stages, the recurring problems at each one, and the best practices that fix them.