Legal Intake AI Agent

1. Define the intake questionnaire

Build practice-area-specific question flows for personal injury, family law, business disputes, criminal defense, and your other areas. Capture party names, dates, jurisdiction, urgency, opposing parties, and a case summary in a structured format attorneys can scan. Ask the questions a paralegal would ask on a first call so nothing critical is missing at handoff.

2. Set conflict-check rules

Cross-reference incoming party names, related entities, and opposing counsel against your client database and matter history before any substantive discussion. Flag any potential match for attorney review rather than clearing it automatically. Make the conflict gate a hard step the workflow cannot skip.

3. Keep the agent inside its lane

Instruct the agent to collect facts and set expectations only, and to never offer a legal opinion, predict an outcome, or quote fees the firm has not approved. Give it clear language for declining to advise and pointing the prospect to an attorney consultation. This boundary is what keeps intake from becoming the unauthorized practice of law.

4. Classify case types

Use intake responses to categorize by practice area, complexity, potential value, and urgency, and apply the firm's criteria for which cases to pursue, refer, or decline. Flag time-sensitive matters like statute-of-limitations pressure so they jump the queue. Keep the classification transparent so an attorney can see why a case was ranked as it was.

5. Route by practice area and capacity

Assign qualified leads to attorneys based on practice area, current capacity, expertise level, jurisdiction, and client preferences. Attach the structured intake summary so the attorney can prepare before the first call. Avoid overloading one attorney by routing on practice area alone.

6. Schedule consultations

Offer available slots from attorney calendars, send confirmations and preparation instructions, and create reminder sequences to cut no-shows. Include what the prospect should bring or have ready so the consultation is productive. Track no-show rates and adjust reminders and scheduling windows accordingly.

7. Handle declines and referrals

For matters outside the firm's practice areas or criteria, send a helpful response with vetted referral options rather than silence. Track referral outcomes so the firm knows which partners handle its declined matters well. A courteous decline protects the firm's reputation and can bring future referrals back.

8. Review intake quality

Sample completed intakes to confirm the summaries are accurate, conflicts were caught, and no advice slipped through. Correct question flows that consistently miss detail attorneys need. Watch response time, consultation booking rate, and conversion so the firm can see the intake improvement.