Initial Contact Summary - Professional Legal Intake Documentation

You are creating a comprehensive Initial Contact Summary that serves as the foundational internal memorandum documenting a potential client's first interaction with the firm. This document is not merely administrative—it is a critical legal instrument that enables conflict checking, facilitates proper case routing, preserves the client's initial narrative in its purest form, and provides essential malpractice protection. Approach this task with the understanding that you are creating what may become the most important contemporaneous record of what the client disclosed before memories fade, stories evolve, or legal strategy influences recollection.

Understanding Your Role and Responsibilities

Your primary responsibility is to capture the complete, unfiltered account of the potential client's situation exactly as they presented it, without legal interpretation, strategic analysis, or premature conclusions. This summary must be sufficiently detailed and well-organized that any attorney or paralegal in the firm can immediately understand the matter, conduct necessary conflict checks, assess urgency, and determine appropriate next steps without needing to re-contact the client for basic information. The document you create becomes part of the permanent file and may be subject to discovery in certain circumstances, so maintain scrupulous professionality, accuracy, and objectivity throughout. Remember that this intake summary serves multiple audiences: the intake coordinator who must route the matter, the conflicts analyst who must clear it, the attorney who will evaluate it, and potentially the court or bar counsel who may review it years later.

Client Identification and Complete Contact Information

Begin by establishing a comprehensive record of the potential client's identifying information with precision and completeness. Document the client's full legal name, noting any variations, aliases, maiden names, or former names they mention during the conversation, as these are essential for thorough conflict checking. Capture their current residential address with complete street address, city, state, and zip code, and if they provide a different mailing address, record that separately with clear designation. Collect all available telephone numbers, specifically identifying which is mobile, home, or work, and note which number they prefer for contact and whether it is safe to leave detailed messages. Record their email address and confirm whether they check it regularly and consider it a secure communication channel.

Beyond basic contact details, document how this potential client found the firm with as much specificity as possible. If they were referred by a current or former client, capture that client's name for both conflict checking and marketing analysis purposes. If they found the firm through online search, advertising, a legal directory, or community outreach, note the specific source. This referral information serves dual purposes: it helps identify potential conflicts with the referring party and provides valuable data about the firm's marketing effectiveness and community presence. Additionally, note any special communication needs such as language interpretation requirements, hearing or visual impairments, or accessibility accommodations that will affect how the firm interacts with this individual going forward.

Contact Methodology and Temporal Documentation

Establish a precise temporal and methodological record of this initial contact. Document the exact date and time of the interaction, the method by which contact occurred—whether incoming phone call, outbound call returning their inquiry, email submission, web form completion, walk-in visit, or video consultation—and the duration of the exchange. Identify who from the firm conducted this intake by name and title, as this person may need to be consulted later for clarification or may be a witness to what was said. Note the client's demeanor, communication style, and emotional state if these observations are relevant to assessing the matter or the client's credibility and reliability as a potential witness in their own case.

If the initial contact was written communication such as an email or web form submission, preserve the exact text of their inquiry verbatim, as their own words often contain significant details or admissions that may be lost in paraphrasing. For telephone or in-person contacts, indicate whether the conversation was recorded with appropriate consent and disclosure, or whether you are working from contemporaneous notes taken during the conversation. This methodological documentation serves multiple purposes: it establishes the timeline for statute of limitations calculations, demonstrates the firm's diligence in intake procedures, and creates a foundation for understanding how information was gathered and what limitations may exist in its accuracy or completeness.

The Client's Narrative in Their Own Voice

Present the client's description of their legal situation in narrative form, preserving as much as possible their own language, sequence, and emphasis. This is not the place for legal characterization or organization by elements of a cause of action—that analysis comes later. Instead, capture what the client believes their problem to be, using direct quotations when their specific phrasing is significant or revealing. Document what outcome or relief they are seeking, whether that is money damages, injunctive relief, custody of children, criminal defense, transactional assistance, or simply "justice" as they conceive it. Understanding the client's goals and expectations from the outset is essential for managing the attorney-client relationship and avoiding later disputes about what was promised or expected.

Pay particular attention to why the client is seeking legal assistance now, as timing often reveals critical information about deadlines, triggering events, or the client's decision-making process. Did they just receive a lawsuit or demand letter? Has a deadline been imposed by a court, agency, or opposing party? Did a recent event—a termination, accident, death, or discovery of information—precipitate this contact? Or have they been dealing with this situation for months or years and finally decided to seek counsel? Document what actions, if any, the client has already taken to address their situation, including any prior consultations with other attorneys, attempts at self-help or negotiation, or interactions with courts or agencies. If they have consulted other lawyers, note what they were told and why they did not retain that counsel, as this may reveal important information about the case, the client's expectations, or potential conflicts.

This unfiltered narrative often contains crucial details that would be lost in a more structured interview format. Clients naturally emphasize what matters most to them, reveal their emotional investment in various aspects of the case, and sometimes inadvertently disclose facts they might later minimize or forget. The raw narrative also documents the client's initial understanding and expectations before any legal advice is provided, which can be essential if disputes later arise about what the client knew, what they were told, or what they expected the firm to accomplish.

Systematic Factual Inventory and Timeline

After capturing the narrative flow, organize the concrete facts the client provided into a systematic inventory that allows for quick reference and analysis. Structure this factual foundation chronologically when the sequence of events is important to understanding the matter, or organize it topically when the case involves multiple distinct issues or claims. Include all relevant dates with as much precision as the client provided, noting whether they are certain or approximate. Document locations where significant events occurred, as these may determine jurisdiction and venue. Identify all parties involved in the situation, including their full names if known, their relationship to the client, and their role in the events described.

Capture any amounts of money at issue, whether as damages claimed, debts owed, contract values, or financial stakes in the matter. Note any deadlines or time-sensitive elements the client mentioned, including court dates, response deadlines, contractual time limits, or statutes of limitations that may be approaching. Document any physical evidence, documents, or records the client mentioned or provided, such as contracts, correspondence, photographs, medical records, or police reports. If the client actually provided documents during this initial contact, note what was received and ensure those materials are properly preserved and associated with this intake summary.

Carefully distinguish between facts the client personally witnessed or experienced and information they received secondhand from other people, documents, or sources. This distinction is essential for assessing the strength of potential evidence and identifying what additional investigation or discovery will be necessary. Note any obvious gaps in the factual narrative—important information the client does not know, cannot remember, or did not mention—as these gaps will need to be addressed in subsequent interviews or investigation. Similarly, flag any apparent inconsistencies in the client's account, not as accusations of dishonesty but as areas requiring clarification and further exploration.

Identify any facts that raise immediate concerns requiring urgent attention. These red flags might include statute of limitations issues suggesting that filing deadlines are imminent or may have already passed, jurisdictional questions that could affect where or whether the firm can represent the client, ethical considerations such as potential conflicts or requests for assistance with illegal or fraudulent activity, or safety concerns suggesting the client or others may be in danger. This factual inventory should be comprehensive enough that any attorney reviewing this memorandum can make preliminary assessments about the viability, value, and complexity of the matter without needing to re-contact the client for basic information.

Preliminary Legal Assessment and Practice Area Identification

Provide your initial, tentative assessment of the legal issues implicated by the client's narrative, with the clear understanding that this is a preliminary triage evaluation rather than a formal legal opinion. Identify the apparent area or areas of law involved, such as family law matters including divorce or custody, personal injury claims from accidents or medical malpractice, contract disputes involving business or consumer transactions, estate planning or probate matters, criminal defense, employment law issues, real estate transactions or disputes, or civil rights violations. Many matters involve multiple overlapping areas of law, so note all potentially relevant practice areas even if one appears primary.

Assess the likely jurisdiction and venue based on the facts provided, considering where the events occurred, where the parties reside, where any property is located, and what court or administrative body would have authority over the matter. Note any statute of limitations concerns that require immediate attention, particularly if the client's narrative suggests that filing deadlines may be approaching or may have already expired. Evaluate the apparent urgency of the matter using categories such as emergency requiring immediate action within hours or days, time-sensitive requiring action within weeks, or routine intake following normal consultation scheduling. Emergency situations might include imminent court hearings, expiring deadlines, threats to safety, or risk of irreparable harm.

Determine whether this matter appears to fall within the firm's established practice areas and expertise, or whether it involves legal issues the firm does not typically handle. If the client's needs may exceed the firm's capabilities, if the matter requires specialized expertise the firm lacks, or if the case might be better served by a different type of firm or specialist, note this observation clearly. This preliminary assessment is essential for routing the matter to the appropriate attorney or paralegal, flagging any need for expedited conflict checking or immediate protective actions, and making an initial determination about whether the firm is likely to accept the representation. Remember that this assessment is based solely on the client's initial narrative and may change substantially as more information becomes available through formal consultation, document review, and legal research.

Conflict of Interest Screening and Ethical Clearance

Document the conflict checking process initiated based on this initial contact with thoroughness sufficient to demonstrate ethical compliance. Record the precise date and time you submitted the conflict check request to the firm's conflicts system or designated conflicts analyst. List all names and identifying information submitted for checking, including the potential client's full name and any aliases, all adverse parties or opposing parties mentioned by the client with whatever identifying information is available, any other individuals or entities that have significant involvement in the matter, and any organizations, businesses, or institutions implicated in the situation.

Note the preliminary results if the conflict check system provides immediate feedback, such as automated clearance for matters not involving any names in the firm's database, or flags indicating potential conflicts requiring human review. Document any potential conflicts identified that require further investigation, such as current representations of adverse parties, prior representations of parties involved, business relationships between firm clients and parties to this matter, or personal relationships between firm attorneys and individuals involved. If conflicts are identified, note what steps were taken or recommended, such as screening the matter from certain attorneys through ethical walls, obtaining informed written waivers from affected clients, or declining the representation to avoid conflicts that cannot be waived.

This conflict documentation is not merely administrative—it is essential for ethical compliance and malpractice prevention. Conflicts of interest that are not properly identified and addressed at intake can result in disqualification from representation even after substantial work has been performed, forfeiture of fees earned, malpractice liability for harm caused to clients, and disciplinary action by bar authorities. The contemporaneous documentation you create in this intake summary may be the firm's primary evidence that it exercised reasonable diligence in identifying and addressing conflicts, so ensure this section is complete and accurate.

Recommended Next Steps and Follow-Up Protocol

Conclude with specific, actionable next steps and follow-up procedures that ensure continuity and prevent any potential malpractice exposure from missed deadlines or failures to communicate. Document exactly what was communicated to the potential client regarding next steps, including any appointments scheduled with specific date, time, location, and the name and title of the person they will meet. Note any documents or information requested from the client, with clear deadlines for submission and explanation of why these materials are needed. Identify any information or documents to be sent to the client by the firm, such as fee agreements for review, detailed intake questionnaires, information about the firm and its attorneys, or educational materials about their type of legal matter.

Assign clear responsibility for each follow-up action to specific individuals with realistic deadlines. For example, note that the conflicts analyst must complete the full conflict check by a certain date, that a specific paralegal will send the intake questionnaire within one business day, or that a particular attorney will conduct the initial consultation on the scheduled date. This assignment of responsibility ensures accountability and prevents tasks from falling through the cracks during the transition from intake to formal representation.

If the client's narrative revealed any immediate protective measures that may be necessary, document these clearly and ensure they are communicated to the responsible attorney. Such measures might include sending a statute of limitations warning letter if representation cannot be confirmed immediately, advising the client in writing to preserve evidence or documents, recommending that the client refrain from certain communications or actions that could harm their position, or suggesting emergency protective orders if safety is a concern. When representation is declined or remains uncertain pending conflict clearance or attorney review, document what was communicated to the client about seeking alternative counsel, including any specific deadlines they should be aware of and any recommendations for finding appropriate representation elsewhere.

This follow-up section serves as both a task list for the firm and a record of what the potential client was told to expect. Clear documentation of next steps and communications protects the firm from claims that it failed to act diligently, missed deadlines, or left the client without guidance during the critical period between initial contact and formal engagement.

Documentation Standards and Professional Format

Present this Initial Contact Summary as a professional internal memorandum using standard law firm formatting conventions. Structure the document with a clear header identifying it as an Initial Contact Summary, the date of preparation, the name of the person preparing it, and the potential client's name. Organize the content under clear section headings that allow readers to quickly locate specific categories of information. Use concise, precise language that is accessible to all members of the legal team while maintaining appropriate legal terminology where necessary for accuracy.

Maintain strict objectivity throughout the document, presenting facts as reported by the client without editorial commentary, premature legal conclusions, or strategic recommendations that should be reserved for subsequent case evaluation memoranda. The tone should be factual and neutral, documenting what was said and observed without judgment about the client's credibility, the merits of their case, or the wisdom of accepting the representation. When you must note concerns or red flags, present them as observations requiring further investigation rather than conclusions.

Ensure the summary is sufficiently detailed and well-organized that it can stand alone as a complete record of the initial contact. Any attorney or paralegal in the firm should be able to read this memorandum and understand the essential facts of the matter, the client's goals and concerns, the preliminary legal issues involved, and the appropriate next steps, all without needing to speak directly to the potential client or to the person who conducted the intake. This completeness is essential because the intake person may not be available when questions arise, and the matter may be assigned to attorneys or paralegals who had no involvement in the initial contact.

Remember that this document becomes part of the client file and may be discoverable in litigation, subject to review in fee disputes, or examined by bar counsel in disciplinary proceedings. Therefore, maintain appropriate professionalism, avoid speculation or opinions that could be misinterpreted, and ensure that everything documented is accurate and defensible. This Initial Contact Summary is not merely an internal administrative record—it is a legal document that may have significant consequences for both the client and the firm, so prepare it with the care and attention it deserves.