3 Ways to Automate Client Intake

According to the 2019 Legal Trends Report, lawyers spend less than three hours per day on billable tasks.

How is that possible?

Administrative tasks can take up more time than you think. Take client intake for example: You might take a call, ask your new client to fill out a form (or fill one out yourself), re-enter the data from the form into your practice management software, and rewrite the same information again when you draft an engagement letter. Before you know it, you or your staff have spent an hour or more on rote, repetitive tasks that aren’t billable.

Automation can help. With the right setup, you can easily bring on new clients in a fraction of the time with less data entry—and less risk of error. You’ll be happier, and so will your clients.

Here are a few ways to do it:

1. Use client intake tools

There are many programs that automate various parts of the client intake process, whether by making it easy to create intake forms, or by giving clients the option to use e-signatures so that you can get documents signed without having to meet face-to-face.

The best tools integrate directly with your practice management software, so that a new contact or matter is created automatically, right when you new clients fill out an intake form.

Clio Grow

Clio Grow is a legal customer relationship management (CRM)  and client intake platform built specifically for law firms. It includes easy-to-follow dashboards like the Matter Pipeline that let you easily see the real-time status of every potential client, and helps you track where your leads are coming from to help you focus your marketing efforts and grow your business. You can also streamline the appointment booking process by letting clients book their own appointments with Clio Scheduler (available in Clio Suite). Best of all, Clio Grow connects seamlessly with Clio Manage.

Intake 123

Intake 123 allows you to design customized online intake forms for your practice. You can embed Intake 123 forms onto your firm website to capture information from prospective clients, and since Intake 123 integrates with Clio, contacts and matters can be created and updated automatically in Clio when a visitor fills out these forms.

Amiqus ID

Amiqus ID lets you securely capture client intake data and key documentation with end-to-end encryption. Amiqus also offers identity and compliance checks and more.

Traklight

Traklight streamlines client intake while also clarifying a potential client’s legal needs. The software includes questionnaires to help identify business risks, IP issues, and contract needs, so clients will better understand the value of the legal services they’re getting.

Tip: Going paperless is the key to the easy automation of administrative intake tasks. Operating from a brick and mortar office? Speed up the process by providing your client with an iPad or tablet in the waiting room to create a paperless, client-facing data entry process.

2. Use Zapier

If you’re spending any amount of time on repeatable tasks between apps, look at whether you can use Zapier to save that time. It allows you to automate actions between your favorite apps by setting up Zaps between them.

For example, you could set up a Google Form, then add a Zap to automatically create a new matter in your practice management software when the form is filled out (here’s the Zap that lets you do that with Clio).

If you like, you could take it a step further to automatically create your engagement agreements which is what Washington firm Palace Law does. The firm collects all new client information in a Google spreadsheet. Then using document automation, they use the information from their client intake to automatically create their initial contracts.

3. Use a website service that integrates client intake

Whether potential clients find you via an online directory, or whether they hear about you from a family friend, they’re likely to look for more information before they hire you, so you need a professional website that communicates what your firm does. You could hire a web designer or build a website yourself, but another option is to use legal-specific website platforms and services that cater to what your firm needs.

Many of these services will also help you automate client intake for your firm. Here are a few options:

LawLytics

LawLytics is a platform for building attorney websites, but it also includes the option to create an unlimited number of customizable forms that can be placed anywhere on your site. If you use LawLytics with Clio, information from your firms will be pulled directly into Clio—no need to install an additional plugin for your website.

DirectLaw

DirectLaw is a platform for virtual law firms. It includes a range of options, including a client-facing legal document automation platform, and a secure online client intake portal that can be used to bring in new clients and communicate with existing ones. DirectLaw clients and matters can be exported directly to Clio, keeping all of your key firm information in one place.

JurisPage

JurisPage is a marketing and website design agency for law firms. In addition to helping increase your online visibility, it lets you create customized online intake forms for your site.

JurisPage integrates with Clio, so you can connect forms fields on your website to fields in your Clio account. Whenever someone fills out the web form, a new client contact card with all of their information will be created automatically in Clio.

Use technology to make client intake easier

We all have the same 24 hours in a day, and there’s no getting away from the day-to-day administrative needs of your legal practice. But, with a bit of research, law practice management software can help you worry less about data entry so that you can spend more time helping your clients.

Take time to look at these tools to find the one that works best for your firm, but know that whatever you choose isn’t set in stone. Technology is constantly evolving, and you can always tweak your process or try out a new tool to make client intake at your firm more efficient for you and more pleasant for your clients.

Eager for more tips? Learn more about the value of creating a seamless law firm client intake process. 

We published this blog post in November 2017. Last updated: October 29, 2022.

Categorized in: Technology