# AI for small law firms: organise intake and administrative work A new enquiry arrives with a name and a short description, but the firm's intake form still has empty administrative fields. Before anyone decides whether to take the matter, someone needs a clear record of what was provided and what needs checking. The examples here concern preparation and administration. A lawyer or authorised member of the firm makes the professional and business decisions. Canonical: https://areinum.com/ai-for-small-law-firms/ Language: en Updated: 2026-11-04 ## Fictional example The owner's request: Compare this new enquiry with our approved intake fields and list the administrative details we still need. Information provided: - The fictional form requires the prospective client's name, a contact method and the name of the other party. - The enquiry contains a name and contact method but leaves the other-party field blank. Example result: Name: provided. Contact method: provided. Other party: missing. Draft question: 'Please provide the name of the other party, if known.' Intake status: incomplete. The next step: An authorised member of the firm checks the request and decides how to continue. Completing the form does not accept the matter. ## Use the firm's approved intake questions Start with the fields the firm has already approved for that kind of enquiry. Compare them with the information supplied and prepare a short list of missing items, rather than asking the prospective client to repeat the entire story. If a field is unclear, label it for review. A completed administrative form does not mean the firm has accepted the matter, and the firm should decide which information is appropriate to collect. ## Review party matches and document signatures A comparison of names against the available matter and contact records can surface possible matches for the firm to review. Similar names may refer to different people, and an incomplete register may omit a relevant record. For an approved document, use the exact document version and the available signing status. A request for signature and a confirmed signature are different events. If the source does not show a current status, record it as unknown. ## Prepare a handoff another person can use When a colleague takes over administrative work on a matter, list the open tasks, the person recorded against each task and the date of the latest update. Mark unassigned work and stale statuses rather than inventing a deadline. A draft bill can be assembled from approved time and expenses using the firm's supplied rates. The responsible person checks incomplete entries and the total before taking any further billing step. ## Work you can get help with Illustrative scenario using sample information. ### Identify missing intake fields Compare an incoming enquiry against the firm's approved administrative intake fields and prepare the missing questions. What you provide: Approved field list and the information supplied in the enquiry. The useful result: An intake summary with completed, missing and unclear fields. When the task is complete: The authorised person has confirmed the required intake fields or recorded which ones remain open. What still needs checking: The firm decides whether to accept the matter; the summary is not legal advice. ### Surface possible party matches Compare party names supplied by the firm with the available matter and contact register and show potential matches with their sources. What you provide: Names to check and an authorised, available list of existing matters and parties. The useful result: A list of possible matches for a member of the firm to examine. When the task is complete: The firm's authorised reviewer has examined the matches and documented the outcome under its own process. What still needs checking: A reviewer checks potential conflicts; no match in the available records does not clear the matter. ### Check the signature status of an approved document Bring the approved document identifier, signer list and current recorded statuses into one view. What you provide: Approved document version, expected signers and available signature records. The useful result: A status list showing confirmed, awaiting or unknown for each signer. When the task is complete: The firm has obtained confirmation for each required signature or recorded the outstanding status. What still needs checking: A request sent is not a signed document. ### Prepare a bill for review Organise approved time and expenses by matter for a selected period and calculate a draft using the supplied rates. What you provide: Approved time and expense entries, rates, matter reference and billing period. The useful result: Draft bill lines, a total to review and a list of entries missing required information. When the task is complete: An authorised person has checked the entries and resolved or explicitly held the exceptions before issuing a bill. What still needs checking: The firm reviews the draft and decides whether to issue it. ### Hand over open administrative tasks Summarise the tasks attached to a matter, their recorded owners and the last known update. What you provide: Matter reference, task list, responsible people and latest available statuses. The useful result: A handoff showing open work, assigned owners and items with unknown status. When the task is complete: The receiving person has reviewed the handoff and confirmed who will handle each open or unclear item. What still needs checking: Do not infer legal deadlines or the progress of work from an old task record. ## Questions you may have ### Does finding no name match clear a potential conflict? No. A name search only covers the information supplied and the records available for that search. The firm reviews the result using its own process. ### Can this determine whether we should take a case? No. It can prepare an administrative summary and identify missing fields. The decision remains with the firm. ### How should we handle a document with no current signature record? Keep its status as unknown and check the approved version and the signing record. Do not treat an invitation to sign as a completed signature. ### Can I try intake with a live client matter? The demo uses sample company data. Before using client material, ask whether the intake workflow and access it requires are available. ## Sources and further reading - [The Client Intake Process: Steps to Take for Law Firms](https://www.clio.com/blog/client-intake-process-stages/): Clio describes stages of client intake, including questionnaires, documents, signatures and matter setup. - [Workflow Recipes: 15 Automations You Can Implement This Month](https://www.clio.com/resources/ai-for-lawyers/ai-automation-recipes/): Clio describes possible administrative workflows involving potential conflict checks, matter tasks and draft bills. - [Run Conflict Checks in Clio Manage and Clio Grow](https://help.clio.com/hc/en-150/articles/41182681954331-Run-Conflict-Checks-in-Clio-Manage-and-Clio-Grow): Clio's documentation describes searching contacts and matters during a conflict check. - [What are your Client Intake and Case Management Processes?](https://www.reddit.com/r/LawFirm/comments/ob06lg/what_are_your_client_intake_and_case_management/): A public discussion includes different approaches to collecting intake information. - [Solo Law Office: Online client intake forms completion set up?](https://www.reddit.com/r/LawFirm/comments/1jn3zy1/solo_law_office_online_client_intake_forms/): A person preparing a solo practice asks about online intake forms and related documents. ## Related reading - [Prepare an intake packet when details are missing](https://areinum.com/examples/law-firm-incomplete-intake/) - [Prepare and work with business documents](https://areinum.com/product/documents/) - [Review the next step before it affects someone else](https://areinum.com/product/decisions-and-control/) - [How to hand work over without losing the details](https://areinum.com/guides/hand-work-over-without-losing-details/) - [Find what is missing before a client project starts](https://areinum.com/guides/missing-client-project-information/) Explore the demo: https://platform.areinum.com/ The demo uses sample company data. 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