The Role of a Law Firm Intake Specialist

What an Intake Specialist Does

What Does an Intake Specialist Do at a Law Firm?
As soon as a prospective client calls for any of the reasons listed above, they are immediately set in motion through the firm’s intake interview process by the firm’s intake specialist. Every law firm has an intake interview process, but there are probably a thousand different ways it can be done. One standardized way to perform this process is through a series of closed-ended question that can only be answered with "yes" or "no". These questions determine if probable cause exists to move forward with the case, then qualifying questions start to narrow down the type of case it is. Then, the case is classified into different types, such as car accident, wrongful death, brain injury, medical malpractice, class action, and the like.
This is a pretty simplistic view of a typical intake process that most large law firms have in place. It is important to note that there is a fundamental flaw in this intake process – a layperson cannot make a decision of liability or damages based on facts alone. We know that the law requires that a layperson use liability and damages to determine if a case has value . The next thing we realize is that value has three different components: liability, which we as lawyers know is related to the merit of the topic and the ability to prove it, including causation; damages, which are the injuries from which we can prove the value; and venue, which is an entirely different analysis due to the fact that metro venues tend to deliver lower verdicts than rural venues. All three of these elements need to be considered when determining value as a lawyer, not simply liability and damages. The only reason this is important to teach your intake specialist is because the vast majority of potential clients already believe they have a lawsuit, it is not your intake specialist’s job to definitively determine if a lawsuit exists. It is his job to simply do a preliminary intake and then send the client to meet with a lawyer so the lawyer can then determine if a lawsuit exists.
By teaching your intake specialist how to do preliminary intake, the firm is given the opportunity to determine if they are going to have a viable case or not. This is what an intake specialist does.

Why an Intake Specialist is Important

Retaining a client is critically important to the success of a law firm. Often, a person who is considering retaining your services will engage with your firm twice. Sometimes it will be a "cold call" over the phone or a visitor to your website; other times it will be a referral from another client or even a follow-up from an event. In some cases, the engagement can occur multiple times over a short period, or be a lengthy process.
Take the recent experience of Elizabeth Hartman with the Law Offices of R. Michael Brown, located in Fort Worth Texas. Elizabeth had retained her services upon recommendation of a close friend, but like many clients, she was busy and didn’t immediately have her records and other pertinent information on hand. Elizabeth Hartman had learned that she’d need to undergo surgery for compensation related injuries, and there were complications and more serious problems than expected. She was under considerable stress because of the pain and difficulty she was facing. Unfortunately, R. Michael Brown was not the only attorney she had contacted regarding her case. She estimate that she’d spoken with more than a dozen lawyers before finally retaining Mr. Brown’s services. During these conversations, Elizabeth experienced a common problem.
"Most attorneys are so self centered in their conversation that you feel as if you are speaking to a therapist," she says. Elizabeth Hartman finally became frustrated, losing faith in the legal community as a whole. "Most of the private lawyers I called wanted to charge me for my consultation and refused to discuss anything until I paid him his retainer," she continues. "I found this utterly ridiculous! I wasn’t given an explanation (including the attorney’s fee) of what his services included. I didn’t even know how my lawyer was going to be paid, and I didn’t want to waste my time or his! His receptionist was rude to me, and when I requested to speak to him, he refused to come to the phone. I felt like I was "bugging" him!… Not to mention, I had already been seen by an attorney for a previous car accident. My attorney gave me more information in one moment than all of these attorneys did in an hour on the phone with me!"
Apparently like every other attorney for whom she wasted her time, the attorney that she finally retained did not return her calls, and neither did his staff. "Finally, after 6 months of NO RETURN PHONE CALLS I decided to seek services elsewhere. My doctor referred me to the Law Offices of R Michael Brown. Thank God for you Mr. Brown! You have been a wonderful experience. A friend referred me to you." The critical difference was that the Law Offices of R. Michael Brown, in particular intake specialist, Angela Kennedy, were focused not only on getting a retainer agreement signed and getting the business, but also upon working with Ms. Hartman to build a relationship that was far more valuable than just a retainer agreement. Angela took the time to address each of Elizabeth’s painful questions, and thoroughly explained each step in the process upon which they would embark. "She kept in contact; weekly, bi-weekly; she was so professional! She even called me outside of business hours to ensure I was doing o.k.," says Elizabeth. "I had emergency surgery; and while I was in the hospital for my surgery, my Attorney, R. Michael Brown, was on top of everything! I NEVER stressed about money, and I was kept informed every step of the way. My attorney called me and told me what was going on, he spent time with me, my doctor was called in to discuss my medical report, and when my health started to decline, my doctor arranged for him to see me at my doctor’s office in Dallas. Who has that kind of law service? Who cares THAT much about his client? I have never met anyone like him! I am deeply appreciative of what you did for me Mr. Brown! Your dedication to your profession and clients is unsurpassed…I will NEVER forget how you and your staff treated me. It was a great feeling to know someone cared enough about me to get back to me even from his own hospital bed! Thank you!"

The Skills of an Intake Specialist

An intake specialist needs to have a broad range of skills and qualifications to be successful in their role at a law firm. First and foremost, they must have knowledge of lead generation and marketing. A deep understanding of the lead generation process helps an intake specialist effectively evaluate leads that come into the law firm.
Organization skills are crucial for an intake specialist since they will need to provide detailed information to the law firm about prospects, their legal issues, and how best to serve them. Finally, intake specialists need to have data entry skills needed to enter prospects’ information into a contact management system and other software programs used by the law firm.
In addition to these hard skills, intake specialists should also be teachable and have a desire to learn. A good intake specialist is someone who will be able to learn quickly and retain information about the job, the firm’s services, and prospects after only a few months on the job.
Soft skills such as customer service tend to be just as important as the hard skills above. An intake specialist should possess the strong communication skills needed to converse with prospects over the phone. They also need to have the ability to successfully answer all of their questions.
Intake specialists should also be able to collaborate effectively with others in the firm to ensure all prospects and clients have a great experience. Similarly, they need to be able to speak with management and share ways to improve the intake process. Consequently, a good intake specialist is someone who has the ability to work well with others and still be independent.

Becoming an Intake Specialist

Though there are few formal requirements to become an intake specialist, those looking to pursue this role should have at least a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) credentials. Some may find that it is beneficial to complete an associate’s or bachelor’s degree program in a related field such as communications, marketing or business administration.
Once you have graduated from high school or college, you can either gain experience in an administrative capacity by working other positions that don’t carry as much responsibility or by using your current administrative skills to get a job as an intake specialist.
Completion of coursework in scheduling, customer service and telephone communications , processing legal paperwork, legal terminology or management to get a head start in the administrative side of law may also be helpful to your pursuits. These classes may be offered through a community college, four-year institution or trade school.
Attaining certification can be helpful for those looking to advance their career to a law or administrative professional, opening up more employment opportunities for them.
Professional certifications are available through a range of respected organizations such as the American Bar Association, the International Intake Integrators and the National Association of Legal Secretaries, offering intake specialist certifications that can be attained through online testing or completion of a certification course.

Intake Specialist Challenges

Like any job or role in a firm, the intake specialist is bound to be faced with several challenges. For one, there’s the challenge of becoming familiar with the specific processes and duties of the intake role itself. Naturally, each firm has its own way of handling incoming calls, managing information and scheduling appointments. Learning a new system and getting a handle on each of the responsibilities takes time, and there’s either too much or not enough help to be found. Finding a balance in the workload can be tricky.
Additionally, intake specialists may struggle to adapt to the firm while navigating the politics that come with any office environment. It’s important to remember that the intake specialist is one of the few firm members who could end up having direct and lasting contact with a potential client. As a result, proper training of the person in charge of your first line of defense is crucial. Each potential client should have pleasant interactions with the intake specialist, so he or she must clearly have proper training for that position. Without that training, the potential for mistakes is high, and mistakes could cost the firm a valuable client.
Plus, the intake specialist role comes with its own set of challenges when it comes to achieving a healthy work-life balance. For one, if your intake specialist tends to stretch themselves thin taking on extra work from the firm’s attorneys, he or she may have very little free time left in the day or night for personal activities. Although it can be difficult to say "no," especially when you’ve developed a strong rapport with the entire office and its employees, you’ve got to be able to make that distinction between when to take work home and when to go out for a run in the park instead.

The Future of Intake Specialist

As law firms continue to seek efficiency and scalability, the role of the intake specialist is primed to evolve significantly in the coming years. While the traditional model of interpersonal skills and relationship building will always remain important, we can expect to see an increased focus on the intake specialist’s ability to manage a wealth of data and integrate these into a law firm’s practice in order to benefit all levels of the firm. For example, intake specialists will increasingly become adept at capturing, tracking, and interpreting basic data including:
Data such as this is critical for a law firm’s overall success, and the intake specialist will begin playing an integral role in capturing this information and driving strategic firm initiatives.
The increasing use of new technologies will enable the intake specialist to become even more important. With the rise of artificial intelligence , intake specialists are already benefiting from improved data capture capabilities and streamlined processing of individuals seeking legal services. Caldwell is actively working with the latest tools to design the optimal approach to enhancing case intake and supporting personal injury and mass tort cases. By integrating the power of artificial intelligence with the human element, they can deliver better results for clients, and for the intake specialists themselves.
With AI, a law firm can leverage chatbots through its website and social media handles that provide immediate interaction with clients, all while collecting intelligence and learning to tailor its interaction and content to its audience. This can be extremely helpful with certain populations and demographics that are not always best served through traditional marketing methods. AI can also provide insight at a level of detail previously unavailable to law firms, empowering the intake specialists to identify the best course of action for a particular case, saving the firm time and money later. This type of integration is already gaining traction in both corporate and consumer service areas and with these successful implementations, we will doubtlessly start seeing a spillover effect of interested to other areas of law.