What’s the most important part of a personal injury claim’s lifespan? Discovery? Negotiations? Heading to trial? In many respects, a good argument can be made that the most important part of a personal injury claim is, in fact, intake.
That first phone call, the first notes jotted down, and the immediate impression a potential client gets of you, your firm, and your ability to help them.
But many solo attorneys are handling intake by themselves. If you have a paralegal, there’s only so much he or she can reasonably do. The results? Your client intake process can wind up on the back burner most days. Let’s break down why that’s so damaging, and how an ILA can help turn this bottleneck around for the better.
Personal injury law is among the most urgent areas an attorney can practice in. The people reaching out to your office are hurting, struggling to make sense of what just happened, and desperate to get answers and guidance as quickly as possible. This is why client intake is so critical to your personal injury firm.
You see, with personal injury law, first impressions are last impressions. When a potential client calls and gets no answer, or when they call and a paralegal seems distracted, they’ll simply hit the next number on their list and keep searching.
If information slips between the cracks, gets lost, or isn’t properly noted, you could wind up turning down an excellent case. You need quality, detailed data to make a good initial judgment, and while intake certainly won’t be your only interaction with a client, it’ll be a crucial starting point for both of you.
The wrong first impressions wind up hurting your bottom line and putting justice a little further out of reach for someone you could genuinely help.
Personal injury intake involves several key steps, and how they’re handled can make an immense difference in who you take on and who you politely decline.
This all seems simple enough, but you’d be surprised how easy it is for things to slip between the cracks. A name that’s misspelled. A phone number jotted down incorrectly. A hospital name that gets skipped.
And even seemingly minor delays can lead to serious complaints online, as well. “He never called back.” “She took down my information and then ghosted me”. That’s not the result you intended, but if client intake isn’t handled with exceptional care and precision, that’s exactly what can happen.
This is precisely why an ILA can be especially helpful. Your ILA isn’t simply a paralegal, and they’re not a law student, either. They’re an accredited fellow attorney with cases, clients, and careers of their own.
They know what’s at stake, have undergone weeks of careful training before they reach you, and can respond to inquiries with the same precision, care, and attention to detail that you would offer.
What do you gain from that extra help? Time saved, without having to compromise on the clarity and quality of intake data. Completed intake forms are forwarded to you as you sit at your desk, allowing you to review the information and make a decision then and there.
It’s also important to understand what your ILA won’t do. For one, your ILA will never decide, on your behalf, whether or not a client is a good fit. That decision always lies with you.
They will also never give a potential client legal advice, suggest whether you can or cannot take them on, or initiate any type of attorney-client relationship. All of those steps lie within your control, every time.
“Do you think I have a strong case?” is a common question on the phone. Your ILA won’t make any guesses or promise any outcomes. They’ll professionally, politely, and respectfully refer the caller to you and help them schedule a first meeting to discuss their accident in more detail.
At every stage of intake, their job is to simply gather information, ensure it’s correct while the potential client is still on the line, and schedule an initial consultation. Treatment information, a basic timeline, and the nature of their injury will all be noted.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself. How much time in a week is spent on client intake? Three hours? Five? More?
Those are all hours you could spend carefully reviewing evidence, strategizing, and helping current clients seek higher awards and more comprehensive damages.
The less distracted you are, the better you can hone in on the work that’s right in front of you.
These are people who rely on your skills, experience, care, and focus to get the results they need. With an ILA, their intake process can be smoother, faster, and far better communicated.
Q: What is personal injury intake, and why does it matter so much?
A: Personal injury intake is the process through which clients reach out to you, and you gather key information to help determine if you can take their case. Intake can be done on the phone, through email, or through an online form. The client’s name, phone number, injury description, accident details, and accident-specific medical treatment will be documented and passed on to you.
Proper client intake is crucial, ensuring contact information is correctly documented, helping the caller understand that someone is there to help, and taking the first step in a possible attorney-client relationship.
Q: Can a virtual paralegal or ILA handle client intake for a personal injury firm?
A: Yes, absolutely. Your ILA will interact with clients through Google Voice, online forms, or email. All ILAs are carefully screened for excellent English, professionalism, high ethical standards, and a dedication to client care.
ILA training also includes appropriate responses to client inquiries, such as “Do you think I have a strong case?” or requests for case updates.
Q: How does an ILA help with medical information during intake?
A: Your ILA will gather details about the potential client’s injuries, the nature of the accident, when it took place, what medical treatment has been received, and where that treatment was received. Later, your ILA can reach out to these facilities to request medical records using HIPAA-compliant authorization forms and follow up if records aren’t arriving in a timely manner.
Q: Can an ILA do intake in Spanish or other languages?
A: Yes, bilingual ILAs are available. If you need an ILA who can speak Spanish, or any other language your clients frequently use, let us know. We’ll seek out an accredited attorney fluent in that language to help with seamless, clear, and congruent communication at every step of intake.
Client intake is among the most critical stages of a personal injury case. And being able to delegate that work could save you hours per week. If you need someone reliable, professional, careful, and accredited to handle intake for you, reach out for a Discovery Call today.
Because your clients, their cases, and their futures deserve attentive, thoughtful treatment at every stage. And you deserve the bandwidth to work at your best for them, week after week.
Grace Singh is a writer and editor for DocketWorks. She enjoys bridging services and client needs in ways that are meaningful, memorable, and human-focused, even as technology continues to change. When she’s not at her home office, she enjoys nature walks, reading, and brewing coffee.