Matter Intake, Triage, and Client Onboarding
This domain tests the front door of legal work: capturing requests consistently, screening for conflicts and risk, deciding priority, and converting accepted work into a properly opened matter.
Core concepts
- Intake captures client, adverse and related parties, matter type, jurisdiction, key dates, budget, decision-maker, and referral source.
- Conflict searches run across all named and related parties, current and former clients, and other offices; record the search scope and result.
- Triage dimensions: urgency and limitation dates, value, complexity, risk exposure, capacity, and strategic fit.
- Onboarding: identity and beneficial-ownership checks, engagement letter with scope and exclusions, fee terms, client-account rules, outside counsel guidelines, and a privacy notice.
- Matter opening: unique matter number, team, budget, docket calendar, document workspace, and ethical walls where needed.
Worked example
An existing client requests work against a company whose parent is named in the request. Searching only the subsidiary misses the parent, which is an existing client in another office. Reasoning: searches cover all named and related parties; a potential conflict places the matter on hold and requires screening or informed consent before substantive work. Triage routes the request to conflict resolution, not to a lawyer.
Traps
Starting work before the engagement letter is signed; checking only the new client's name; first-come-first-served triage; vague scope descriptions; missing beneficial ownership; verbal fee terms.