The initial stage of any legal process often starts with the intake of information about the issue and the client. For the in-house legal department, an efficient and accurate intake process sets the tone for the entire internal client experience and is critical to the smooth progress of a matter.
The key to this process lies in well-designed legal intake forms that streamline the collection of necessary information. With legaltech advances, in-house legal teams have more tools than ever to optimise this process for their organisation.
Why is Legal Intake Important?
A disorganised, lengthy, or manual intake process can result in incomplete or inaccurate information, time delays and unclear matter instructions. On the other hand, a seamless and well-structured process helps the in-house legal team to gather the correct information.
Legal intake forms are the first opportunity to collect vital information about the matter, internal client requirements, expectations, and scope out any necessary budget.
Keep It Simple and Clear
When creating intake forms for internal legal requests, it’s essential to follow a clear and logical structure that guides the requestor through the process. Start by collecting basic information about the internal department or individual submitting the request, such as their name, role, and contact details. (Ideally, this information could be automatically populated using the stakeholder’s user credentials.) This initial section establishes the context and helps the legal team understand who they are supporting and capturing valuable data points at the same time.
After gathering general details, move on to more request-specific questions, focusing on the nature of the legal issue or service sought. Each question should have a clear purpose, helping the legal team understand the request without unnecessary complexity. If certain details are not essential, consider making those fields optional or omitting them entirely.
A well-structured and concise form will help internal stakeholders provide information accurately, reducing the need for follow-up and streamlining the overall process. Keeping the form clean and uncluttered also ensures it can be completed quickly, helping internal teams work more efficiently with legal.
Incorporate Conditional Logic
For in-house legal teams, incorporating conditional logic into internal intake forms can significantly enhance the process’s efficiency. Conditional logic dynamically adjusts the form based on the requestor’s responses, presenting only the relevant questions depending on the situation or legal issue. For example, if an internal team member indicates they are submitting a contract review request, the form could automatically expand to ask for specific contract details like key clauses or parties involved. The form will display different questions if they want to submit a compliance-related enquiry.
This approach streamlines the intake process by keeping the form concise and focused. It reduces the likelihood of unnecessary or irrelevant questions being asked, saving both the requestor and the legal team valuable time. Additionally, conditional logic minimises the risk of errors or incomplete information by ensuring that stakeholders only provide data directly pertinent to their legal needs.
Provide Clear Instructions and Guidance
Internal stakeholders may not always have the legal expertise needed to understand every element of the intake process, so it is critical to provide clear instructions and guidance within the form. Avoid overwhelming stakeholders with legal jargon; offer simple explanations where needed. For example, you can include guidance notes, links to ‘how-to’ guides, or tooltips next to more complex questions to give additional context. This guidance will make the intake process smoother and help ensure the legal team receives complete and accurate submissions the first time, reducing the need for follow-up questions.
Leverage Automation and System Integrations
Automation can be a game-changer for in-house legal teams managing high volumes of internal requests. Automated workflows can route submitted intake forms to the appropriate legal counsel or department without manual intervention, ensuring that the right people handle requests. Automation also facilitates task prioritisation, helping legal teams manage their workloads more efficiently.
Integrating the intake system with other internal tools, such as matter management, document management, or billing systems, can further streamline operations. For instance, intake data can automatically populate the details of the matter, reducing the time spent on manual data entry and minimising the risk of mistakes. Platforms like Lawcadia offer legal operations software to help in-house legal teams create a seamless and efficient process, improving accuracy and speed.
Maintain Strict Access Control and Confidentiality
Legal intake processes often involve sensitive, confidential, or privileged information. Ensuring the security of such data is essential. Legal teams must adopt intake tools that guarantee strict access controls and confidentiality throughout the process.
Unlike standard IT ticketing tools, which typically lack the ability to restrict access based on matter type or responses, legal-specific intake tools should employ conditional logic to limit access to named individuals—such as the General Counsel or HR Manager—based on the type of matter or specific form selections. These restrictions should seamlessly integrate with the matter management and document management systems, replicating permissions and access controls across platforms.
Regularly Review and Update
Internal processes and organisational needs evolve, and so should your legal intake forms. Regularly reviewing and updating your intake forms is vital to ensure they align with the legal department’s requirements and current business practices. This might involve adding new sections to address emerging areas of legal support or removing outdated questions that no longer serve a purpose.
Additionally, soliciting feedback from internal stakeholders who use the forms can provide valuable insights into how to improve the process. Are there recurring questions or areas of confusion? Are there ways to simplify the form even further? By proactively updating your forms, you ensure they remain effective and efficient tools for capturing necessary information, leading to better outcomes for the legal team and the broader organisation.
Conclusion
An efficient internal legal intake process is critical to the smooth operation of in-house legal teams. By focusing on the outcome, legal departments can streamline how they handle internal requests, reducing bottlenecks and ensuring more accurate and timely legal support.
With the right tools and approach, in-house legal teams can create a more productive workflow. This makes it easier for internal stakeholders to engage with legal services while enabling the legal team to operate efficiently.
