Art of Matter Intake

In today’s cost conscious and hyper regulated business environment,  law firms and in-house legal teams are expected to deliver great legal outcomes with minimum expenditure of resources.  That expectation makes internal processes like matter Intake a critically important step to set up your legal projects for success.

Why Intake Process Matters

How you intake files at time of referral has long-ranging consequences for ease of work flow and avoiding missteps that affect your team, client satisfaction and ultimately your firm’s success.  Neglecting to set up substantial intake procedures leads to:

• File Delays – Once you get a referral, time to delivery of milestone activities is being tracked. If you are not set up well, you risk not being able to move a file forward quickly.
• Rework – If not done well the first time, you may end up redoing activities later.
• Risk – Problems with a file not caught out the gate may risk not having a good legal outcome or having activities for which you cannot recoup fees.
• Inadequate Management Reporting – Lack of good data makes for poor reporting of key performance measures.

Lessons Learned from Common Matter Intake Issues

• Incomplete Client Onboarding – Taking client referrals without having complete onboarding can result in files getting stalled in the process. Incomplete client onboarding activities such as lack of EDI or FTP setup, no customized templates ready for legal document drafting, and waiting on IT to program custom work flows in the case management system can all bring your file to a standstill.
• Inconsistent Referral Evaluation – File intake is frequently delegated to non-attorneys, who may excel at quickly entering data into your case management system but not be knowledgeable about identifying issues in files you should escalate to an attorney or client. For example, a file may be too close to the statute of limitations date and legal work done will not have any positive outcome.
• Confusion with Files Transferred from Another Law Firm – Files inherited from an off-ramped law firm may be in various stages than other files received only at the beginning stage. An attorney may not have defined the higher level of triage of these files require. Missteps may have occurred on the file that you must rectify before the file can start moving forward again.
• Incomplete Documentation / Lack of Consistent Documentation – There are times when inconsistent document formats coming from the same client along with lots of variation in types of documentation sent slows down people working on intake – looking for the same information in different places. There may be lack of follow-through to get additional documents causing slowdown later when attorneys and paralegals do not have what they need for next steps.  Naming same type of documents in different ways can contribute to confusion, including impairing use of search functions tied to key words.
• Incomplete/Wrong Data in Case Management System – Technology is great but we need to feed it the right information.  Legal processors may have varying degrees of diligence on data entry.  The system may not be customized sufficiently to require certain fields or keep users from entering wrong values.  When paralegals go to draft complaint documents, they may not have the exact wording to use for naming the client as Plaintiff, which prevents the complaint template from generating correctly.  Management may scratch their head getting reports that for example can’t calculate time from referral to an important legal milestone because the date was not entered or was put in the wrong field.
• Inefficient Communication with Client – When you need to escalate an issue, the intake team may not have the right contacts. Then you get games of ‘telephone’ going on where the same request passes through multiple parties before getting to the right person and returning the information.

Robust Intake Framework

• Define Minimum Client Setup – When onboarding a new client, define implementation steps needed and track whether completed. Discuss what must be set up before taking that first file referral and what can wait till later.  In the category of must be set up:  method of referral delivery, client contact information, field set up in your case management system, and template for first legal activity.  In the category of saving for later if needed:  templates for legal actions that happen further in the process.  Do not drop this ball once file  referrals start and gum up your timeline again waiting for someone to define the procedures for next steps of the legal process or getting that next template.
• Define Minimum File Viability – What is the minimum level of information needed in order to start work on the referral? You need to clearly define viability in terms of both documents and data points.
  • Define parameters for correct field values
  • Define required documents and completeness
    • Understand common errors in the documents and how to fix them

Communicate expectations with the client that the clock does not start ticking until file intake is at the minimum viable level of documentation and information.

• Intake Process Map – Most stages of legal work can and should be mapped, especially intake. Here are steps to take prior to building your final map:
  • SIPOC (Suppliers/Inputs/Process/Outputs/Customers). Are you getting data from more than one source?  What systems and websites are you utilizing on the client and internal side?  What client and internal constraints feed into process requirements?
  • RACI (Responsible/Accountable/Consulted/Informed) – What are the roles and responsibilities? Is someone accountable for each part of the process?  Do you have any single points of failure where only 1 responsible party – what’s the backup plan?

Now you are ready to build a process map.  Important aspects to include:

• For each activity:
  • Who (what role) is performing the activity
  • What activity is performed
  • Where the activity is performed (i.e. – in case management system)
  • What deliverables are created
• Include decision points where you have more than one path you can take – in this case, identifying exception paths.

• Create Standard Operating Procedures and Train Staff – Your process map should be a good basis for drafting process instructions. Great instructions allows you to transmit knowledge and delegate confidently.
  • Acronyms and unique terms should be defined. Ask yourself how easily someone new to the process could understand it.
  • Break down process instructions into sections showing milestones in the process, then include all the steps within process to get to that milestone – i.e. – file fully entered into case management system
  • Include escalation procedures – when escalation is warranted and who/what role can resolve escalations
• Error Proof Your System – In Lean Six Sigma methodology, a ‘poke yoke’ is something setup to keep your user from making an error. Relevant examples for case management system:
  • Date field for file referral cannot be left blank, must be a valid date
  • Have an ‘Approve Client Documents’ step you must complete during intake in order for file to move to further processing
  • Flag a file that has < 6 months till statute of limitations runs out

Conclusion

A well organized and methodical intake process lays the foundation for a case lifecycle that flows smoothly, minimizes risk, and allows for strategic management.  Take the time to get it right from the start.