Conflict checks done by emailing around the firm and waiting for replies instead of searching a live database?
Engagement letters sent as Word file attachments and returned signed by post or scanned email because there is no e-signature workflow?
KYC and AML documents collected by asking clients to email copies, then manually stored in a matter folder by a paralegal?
New matters created by the billing team manually re-entering information the client already provided during intake?
The first 48 hours of a new client relationship is the highest-friction point in a law firm's operation. Conflict checks run through email, engagement letters sent as Word attachments, KYC documents collected by post or email forwarding. A slow and disorganised intake process signals to the client how the whole engagement will be run.
We build custom client intake software for law firms. Structured intake from first contact through conflict clearance, engagement letter e-signature, KYC document collection, retainer payment, and matter creation -- without the email back-and-forth.
Structured online intake form capturing client identity, matter details, and conflict search data before the first call
Automated conflict search across clients, matters, and adverse parties with clearance sign-off recorded before matter opening
Template-driven engagement letter sent for e-signature through the client portal and stored on completion
KYC and AML document requests sent to the client with structured upload and storage against the client record
Law firm client intake software manages the full process of opening a new client and matter -- from structured intake form through conflict checking, engagement letter e-signature, KYC and AML document collection, retainer payment, and matter creation in the practice management system. RaftLabs builds custom law firm client intake software for firms that want to replace the manual email, Word document, and spreadsheet process with a single structured, auditable workflow. Most intake projects deliver in 12 to 14 weeks at a fixed cost.
The intake experience is a client's first look at how a firm operates. When that experience involves emailing a Word document, waiting days for a conflict check response, and chasing a signed engagement letter that came back by post, the client forms an accurate impression of the firm's internal process. The risk is not just slow onboarding -- it is leakage. Matters that are opened before conflict checks are properly recorded, engagement letters that are signed but never stored against the file, KYC documents collected inconsistently and saved to whatever folder a paralegal created that day.
A structured intake system removes the manual steps from the most process-sensitive part of a client relationship. The client completes a structured form, conflict checks run against a database rather than an email chain, the engagement letter is generated from the intake data and e-signed through the portal, KYC documents are requested and stored automatically, and the retainer is collected before the matter is opened. The practice management system receives a completed matter record rather than a paralegal re-entering information that was already provided.
Before the first call, the prospective client completes a structured online intake form with conditional logic that adapts questions based on practice area selection. A personal injury intake presents different fields from a commercial contract dispute or an employment matter -- the form builder lets fee earners configure practice area-specific question sets without development work after the initial build. Fields captured include full legal name, contact details, company details where relevant, the nature of the matter, referral source, and names of all parties involved (essential for the conflict search).
For high-volume plaintiff firms, intake lead scoring calculates a case viability score from the intake responses -- incident date, jurisdiction, liability indicators, and damages range -- and surfaces a score and recommendation to the intake team before any fee earner time is allocated. This directs the first consultation call to matters that meet the firm's acceptance criteria rather than requiring a paralegal to manually assess every submission. TCPA compliance for SMS follow-up requires express written consent before automated text messages are sent; the intake form includes the required consent disclosure and checkbox, and the consent record with timestamp is stored against the prospect record. The form is accessible from the firm's website or sent as a direct link, and it works on any device without requiring the client to create an account.
The parties identified in the intake form are searched automatically against the firm's full database of existing clients, open and closed matters, adverse parties, related entities, and referral sources. The conflict search runs in seconds rather than waiting for partners to respond to a group email. Entity name matching uses Levenshtein distance and Soundex phonetic matching to surface likely conflicts from name variations -- "Johnson & Partners LLC" will match "Johnson and Partners" and "Johnson Partners LLC" in the same search rather than requiring exact string matches. This phonetic and fuzzy matching is the difference between a conflict search that catches the risk and one that misses it because a paralegal entered the client name slightly differently four years ago.
Related entity matching follows corporate structures: a search for a company automatically searches its known subsidiaries, parent entities, and controlling individuals to the configured degree of separation. Where potential conflicts are identified, the responsible partner reviews the details and records their clearance decision or declines the matter with a reason code. Integration with Clio Grow, Lawmatics, or the firm's practice management system (Clio, MyCase, Filevine) passes the conflict search result and clearance status to the matter record automatically on clearance. The conflict check report and the clearance decision are stored against the matter file before it is opened, creating a permanent record for risk management and malpractice insurance purposes.
On conflict clearance, the system generates an engagement letter from the appropriate template using the client data collected at intake. Template selection is automatic based on matter type, practice area, and billing arrangement -- a contingency fee engagement letter for a personal injury matter includes state bar-compliant contingency fee disclosures and the maximum contingency percentage permitted under the applicable state rules, following ABA Model Rule 1.5 requirements for fee agreement specificity. A fixed-fee corporate matter generates a different template with different scope and payment terms. Fee agreement compliance with state bar rules on contingency fee caps is enforced at the template level rather than relying on the fee earner to know the applicable limit.
The letter is sent to the client through the portal for e-signature via DocuSign or an equivalent e-signature API -- the client completes the signature on any device without installing software or creating an account. Once signed, the executed document is stored against the matter file automatically in the practice management system. If the client has not signed within a configured period, automated reminders are sent at 24, 48, and 72 hours before the fee earner needs to follow up manually. The firm's template library is maintained centrally so any change to standard terms is applied to all future letters without updating individual documents.
A structured customer due diligence request is sent to the client through the intake portal. The request specifies exactly which documents are required based on the client type and matter type -- government-issued photo ID and proof of address for individual clients, company registration certificate and confirmation of beneficial ownership for corporate clients, and source of funds evidence where the matter value or transaction type requires it. The document checklist is configurable by matter type so a property conveyancing matter requests source of funds evidence as standard while a routine corporate advisory matter does not.
The client uploads documents directly to the portal rather than emailing copies. Uploaded documents are stored against the client record with the date received, the document type, and the fee earner who reviewed and accepted them. The Smith.ai virtual receptionist integration is available for firms using AI-assisted intake screening -- the virtual receptionist can handle the initial enquiry call, capture the intake form fields verbally, and transfer the record to the intake system before the first fee earner contact. The CDD record is flagged incomplete if required documents have not been provided, preventing the matter from proceeding to the retainer and matter creation stages until the requirement is satisfied. IOLTA-compliant trust accounting is enforced at the retainer collection stage: funds collected as a retainer are routed to the trust account rather than the operating account, with the trust ledger entry recorded automatically against the client matter.
Where the engagement requires a retainer or an initial fee, a payment request is generated from the intake data and sent to the client before the matter opens. The client pays by card or ACH bank transfer directly through the portal. Retainer payments are routed to the firm's IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts) trust account; flat fees earned on receipt are routed to the operating account. The payment routing is configured per matter type so the billing team does not need to manually reclassify payments after collection. IOLTA compliance requires that individual client funds in the trust account are tracked separately -- the system maintains a per-client trust ledger so the trust account balance can be reconciled to individual client positions at any time.
The matter does not open until payment is received and confirmed, removing the operational risk of work starting before funds are in hand. Stripe is the default payment processor; LawPay (which is purpose-built for law firm IOLTA compliance and approved by all state bars) is also supported as an integration for firms that require it. All payment records -- payment amount, account type (trust vs operating), payment method, and timestamp -- are linked to the matter and available to the billing team without manual reconciliation.
When intake is complete -- conflict cleared, engagement letter signed, KYC documents received, and retainer collected -- the matter is created in the practice management system automatically. Integration with Clio, MyCase, or Filevine passes client details, matter type, responsible fee earner, billing rate, billing arrangement (hourly, fixed, contingency), and matter reference from the intake record to the practice management system without a paralegal re-entering information that was already provided by the client and validated during intake. The matter is created with the correct billing configuration from day one rather than requiring a billing team member to set up the rate card separately after the fact.
The matter workspace in the practice management system is ready for the fee earner from day one: the engagement letter, CDD documents, conflict check report, and payment records are already filed against the matter in their correct folders. No paralegal setup step is required between intake completion and fee earner work commencement. The client receives confirmation that their matter is open and a link to the client portal where they can track progress, send secure messages to the fee earner, and upload further documents as the matter progresses. The intake-to-matter workflow is the operational foundation that makes the first day of every new client relationship consistent regardless of which fee earner or paralegal handles it.
Frequently asked questions
The intake software creates the matter record in the practice management system on completion of the intake workflow. We build the integration to your specific practice management platform -- Clio, MyCase, Filevine, or a custom system your firm uses. Clio and MyCase both expose REST APIs for matter creation and document upload; Filevine uses a GraphQL API. Client data, matter details, billing rate, billing arrangement, responsible fee earner, and all documents collected during intake are passed to the matter record automatically via the API rather than requiring a paralegal to re-enter the data.
For firms using Clio Grow as their intake CRM, the integration can work both directions: intake submissions captured in the intake system can push to Clio Grow for tracking, and completed Clio Grow matters can trigger the formal intake workflow. For firms using Smith.ai as a virtual receptionist for initial call handling, Smith.ai's webhook can pass call notes and initial intake data into the intake system to pre-populate the intake form before the follow-up email is sent. The integration approach is documented and priced as a defined scope item during discovery.
When the conflict search identifies a potential conflict -- whether an exact match on a party name or a fuzzy match via Levenshtein distance or Soundex phonetic matching -- the matter is placed in a review state and the responsible partner is notified by email. The partner reviews the conflict flag details: which existing matter or client relationship triggered the match, the nature of the potential conflict, and the names involved. The partner records a clearance decision (no conflict, potential conflict managed under ethics rules, or conflict cannot be waived) with a written explanation. This written explanation is stored against the matter as a permanent conflict register entry.
If the conflict is cleared, the intake workflow proceeds immediately and the clearance decision is logged. If the matter cannot proceed, the client is notified through the portal with an appropriate response, and the intake record is retained in the conflicts register rather than deleted. Maintaining the declined matter record is important: if the same prospective client approaches the firm again in future, the previous conflict check and decision are visible to the intake team. At no point does the matter open and fee earner work start before the conflict decision is recorded -- the intake system enforces this as a hard gate, not a reminder.
No. Clients receive a direct link to their intake form and complete it without creating an account or remembering a password. For the KYC document upload and e-signature steps, clients authenticate through a one-time code sent to the email address they provided at intake. If the firm prefers a client account model for returning clients -- so that a client who instructs the firm again can find their previous documents -- that is a configuration option, but it is not required for the basic intake workflow.
A client intake system covering online intake form, conflict search, engagement letter generation and e-signature, KYC document collection, and retainer payment typically takes 12 to 14 weeks from requirements sign-off. Cost depends on the complexity of your conflict database, the number of matter types and engagement letter templates, and whether integration with an existing practice management system is included. We work to a fixed-cost delivery model so there are no overruns once the scope is agreed.
What clients say
Three-year average engagement. Founders and operators describing the work in their own words. No marketing varnish.
All of the sprints were completed on schedule and on budget. We highly recommend RaftLabs!
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Tell us about your firm's intake process, where the current workflow breaks down, and what your conflict check and KYC requirements look like. We will scope a system that removes the manual steps from day one of every client relationship.
