- What does an intake
specialist at a law firm do? I've got the answer to that question and so much more on this
episode of the Inside BS Show. (gentle music) I am Dave Lorenzo, and I get
your questions every day. You leave me questions
down in the comments of these videos, and I
really appreciate it. Today's question is, what
does an intake specialist at a law firm do? Well, this role intake
specialist at a law firm it's gonna vary from law firm to law firm. But if you ask me what
does an intake specialist at a law firm do? I can give you a really
solid five step guide and I'm gonna give you the one thing an intake specialist should not do. In fact, it's illegal for
this person to do this. And I'm gonna share that with you today at the end of our time together. I've also got a free gift for you if you're running a law firm, if you own a law firm or
you're managing a law firm you're gonna want this free
gift, so don't miss out. All right, let's dive
right into the content. The first thing an intake
specialist at a law firm does is capture client information. The intake specialist will
often, when the client signs up, call the client and get all of the client's important information. So what does that mean? They get their name, they get the address. They get the next of kin. They get all the emergency
contact information and they also, the intake
specialist will also collect all of the information necessary for the attorney to evaluate the case. If you're a trust and estates lawyer, this may mean bank statements and statements from investment
accounts and property deeds, very nuanced information. If you're in a bankruptcy practice, this is also an overwhelming job. The intake specialist in a bankruptcy practice has a checklist that's like 10 pages long, of information they need to collect. That is critical to being able to properly represent the client. Now, when we talk about capturing
client intake information or capturing client
information and talk about what does an intake
specialist at a law firm do? My revenue roadmap has a special place for intake specialists. In fact, let's talk about that right now. My revenue roadmap is a guide to business development for a law firm. It's a guide for law firm marketing. It's essentially a law
firm marketing plan. I want you to go down into
the description right below where the description starts. You'll see some text that
say free gift from Dave. And then there's a colon
below that is a link. It's revenueroadmapguide.com,
is the website. I want you to go to that website and put your contact information, you're gonna download my revenue roadmap. Why, well a law firm intake specialist handles step number seven in the revenue roadmap
and that's onboarding. And what that means is they capture all the client information,
do a thorough interview to understand exactly what's
going on in the client's world. The intake specialist
should be a sharp eyed, consultated person who can identify more than just the issue the client has brought to the firm. In fact, when the intake
specialist is doing the onboarding, they should be asking
questions to understand how else the law firm can help the client. Step number two, or point number two in what does an intake
specialist at a law firm do, they help the client understand the case. Picture the intake
specialist at the law firm and envision them as a
translator for the client. So when the attorney says, they're going to send out a demand letter, the intake specialist will
call the client and say, the attorney's just told me they're sending out a
letter asking for X amount from the party that you're suing. The intake specialist is the
translator for the client. They help the client understand the case and they help the client understand what the attorney is doing at what point on the case. The third thing, number three, the third thing an intake specialist at a law firm does, is
the intake specialist answers questions and
facilitates communication. So the intake specialist
will onboard the client and then they'll help to translate the legal ease to the client. And then they are available
as a point of contact, as a person to answer questions and set up appointments
with the attorneys. In the law firms that I work with, the intake specialist is
the last line of defense if the client can't get ahold of anyone. So when the attorney is
assigned to the matter, sometimes there'll be an
attorney and a paralegal, sometimes there'll be multiple attorneys assigned to a client,
the attorneys get busy and they may not be able to answer the client in a timely fashion. That's where the intake
specialist comes in. The intake specialist
will often tell the client or a good intake specialist
will tell the client, listen, if you call the attorney
and he doesn't call you back because he's really
busy and he's in court, you can always reach out to me. I will get you an answer to
any question that you have and I'll make sure the attorney returns your call in a timely fashion. So the intake specialist
really is a client advocate within the firm, to
facilitate communication and answer questions. The fourth thing an intake specialist does is they obtain all necessary documentation and they maintain the file. They keep copies and
maintain copies in the file. Now this is all electronic these days, most law firms don't have
paper copies anymore. The intake specialist will input and upload all of the information. And then as the attorney
is putting information into the record, the intake
specialist will make sure that that information is incorporated into the client's file and make sure that the client has access
to that information. So in addition to doing intake, the intake specialist also
serves as the guardian of the files to make sure
that everything is in order. The fifth and final step that
an intake specialist does, and before I tell you this, don't forget, I'm going to tell you at
the end of our time together what an intake specialist should never do. Don't miss this, stick with
me to the end of this video. The fifth thing that an
intake specialist does, is prepare all initial paperwork. So the intake specialist will set up the file for the attorney. They'll open the new
matter for the attorney in a lot of firms, they'll
get the matter number. They'll make sure the billing
goes out to the client and then they will turn
everything over to the attorney. All right, let's talk about what an intake specialist should never do. In fact, it's illegal for them to do this. In some law firms, personal
injury firms in particular, the runner, a runner is
called an intake specialist. A runner is someone who
literally chases ambulances, the runner, that's where
ambulance chasers get their name. The runner will go to the hospital, find patients who are
injured and sign them up to get their law firm to represent them. In most states, this is illegal. And in most states they call this person, in most shady law firms,
they call this person an intake specialist, but they're not. They're an illegal runner
who's out soliciting business. So, if you own a law firm or if you manage a law firm,
you should never do this. You should never have an intake specialist who's really a runner, who
serves to go to hospitals and sign up injured people
to make them your clients. There are legitimate ways, really good ways to attract clients. Look through my revenue roadmap guide. You can get a copy in the
description of this video, that will teach you the
right way to get clients. An intake specialist does
everything I've outlined. They don't run to the
hospital and chase down cases. My name is Dave Lorenzo. I'm here every day with great
new business strategy for you. Some days we cover strategy specific to professional services firms. Today, we're talking about
an intake specialist. You asked me the question, what does an intake specialist do? And I answered it for you. I'll have another one of
these videos for you tomorrow. See you right back here. Until then, here's hoping
you make a great living and live a great life.
