The legal intake form is a crucial element of finding and retaining prospective clients, so it must be structured in a way which provides essential and comprehensive information.
There are some key elements your legal intake form should have to ensure the success of this process and to simplify your work.
Regardless of your area of practice, every legal intake form must have the following 5 sections, which will be of tremendous help both to you and your clients.
1. Contact information
If the lead qualifies, you will need the contact information of the client in question for the follow-up. Therefore, the first section of your lead intake form must contain basic contact information, such as:
- full name
- address
- phone number
2. Case information
Depending on your area of practice, you must gather helpful information about the case in front of you. For instance, if you are a personal injury attorney, by including questions in your form concerning the nature of the accident, the time and location it took place, as well as what type of injury it resulted in, you will be able to screen your leads more efficiently and figure out whether a client qualifies for your services.
3. Annual income
While the primary purpose of your law firm is to obtain financial compensation for your clients, you must also make sure they have the money necessary to pay your attorney fees. This piece of information will help you select the most suitable clients more rapidly. You will spend less time analyzing every lead to determine if a case is worth pursuing or not.
4. Follow-up appointment
When you set up a follow-up appointment, you might prevent your prospective clients from taking into consideration to opt for the services of a competitor. Consequently, including this element in your lead client intake form is a very good idea for client retention. It is also a great strategy to use reminders for the follow-up appointments so that the client will not forget about it.
5. Retainer agreement
Sending the client a retainer agreement which requires them to verify that the information provided is true and that they accept the costs of your representation will also help your business. It will ensure that your client fully understands the policy of your company and what the legal process entails.
By introducing these categories in your lead intake form, your law firm is bound to enjoy more efficient client identification, as you will have all the information you need to quickly decide whether you have a case. They will considerably improve your lead capture rate over time.