Key takeaways
- Set a response target in minutes and measure it.
- Collect a small, agreed set of facts first. Leave sensitive detail for a lawyer or trained specialist.
- Define exactly when and how the lead is handed off.
- Have your ethics counsel review scripts and form wording.
What are the steps of a personal injury intake process?
- Capture. Every source (ad form, call, text, referral) lands in one place and alerts a person or system at once.
- First contact within minutes. A person or an AI voice assistant reaches out, confirms the person wants help and explains what happens next.
- Note the basics. What happened, when, whether anyone is injured, best callback time, and whether they already have a lawyer.
- Check fit. Case type, location, timing and capacity against the firm’s criteria.
- Conflict check. Before any substantive discussion.
- Handoff. An intake specialist or lawyer takes the conversation, with the summary in front of them.
- Decide and document. Sign, refer out, or decline in writing, with a reason logged.
- Follow up. Set reminders for leads who are not ready yet.
What fields should the intake form have?
| Field | Why | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name and best phone/email | So you can reach them | Confirm preferred contact method |
| Best time to call | Respects their time; lifts answer rate | Include time zone |
| What happened and when | Case fit and urgency | Free text, short |
| Anyone injured? Need urgent help? | Safety first | Route emergencies to 911 guidance, not intake |
| Already working with a lawyer? | Avoid contacting represented people | Some states restrict this |
| How did they find the firm? | Ties leads to ads | Feeds your cost-per-case tracking |
| Consent wording for calls, texts and recording | Compliance | Set by your ethics counsel, state by state |
Avoid collecting more than you need at first contact. Detailed medical, financial or identity information belongs with a lawyer or trained specialist, after conflicts are cleared.
What should the handoff include?
- The lead’s contact details and the best callback time.
- A two-to-three-sentence summary of what happened and when.
- Which ad or source brought them in.
- The time the lead arrived and the time of the first contact.
- Anything the lead asked, and anything promised.
How do you keep the process honest?
Log arrival time and first-contact time for every lead and review them weekly. If the numbers slip, the process needs fixing, not the staff. Try the missed-lead calculator to see what slippage may cost.
Where can AI help?
An AI voice assistant can make the first call within minutes and note the basics, then alert your team. Read AI intake for personal injury firms, and check the compliance guide first.
Want this worked out for your firm? The free 20-minute growth audit looks at your ads and how new leads are handled today, and you keep the written plan. Book my free growth audit.