Sample client intake form for a law firm, field by field
A sample first-contact form for a law firm is 4 fields long, and the wording of each label decides what arrives. Below is a worked example — the exact label text, the field type, whether it is required — plus the 3 fields most firms carry that should be cut.
Last updated: 5 August 2026
What does a sample client intake form look like, field by field?
Four fields, written out as they should appear on the page.
| Label, as written on the form | Field type | Required | Why it exists in this wording |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your name | Single line text | Yes | "Full legal name" belongs on the file-opening sheet; here it only has to address the reply |
| How should we reach you? | One line, plus two radio buttons marked telephone and email | Yes | One route, chosen by the person, rather than two compelled fields |
| What happened, in a sentence or two? | Text area, four rows, with that sentence as placeholder text | Yes | The box size is the instruction; a twelve-row box asks for an essay nobody writes |
| How soon does this matter? | Three radio buttons: this week · this month · no particular deadline | No | Three named states are answerable; a one-to-five urgency scale is not |
| We will reply by [the firm's own window]. [Name or role] reads these. | Static line above the button, not a field | — | The only part of the form that manages the wait |
We build the form. We do not decide which questions a firm needs for its own file opening, and we do not advise on what has to be collected — that is the firm's judgement and its own advisers'. What is on this page is the public first-contact document, which is a design problem rather than a professional one.
Why does the label wording change what arrives?
Because the label is the only instruction the person gets, and most legal forms label for the filing cabinet rather than the writer.
Three worked comparisons:
- "Case description" against "What happened, in a sentence or two?" The first asks somebody to categorize their own situation in language they do not have. The second asks for narrative, which is the only thing they can supply accurately at this point.
- "Phone* Email*" against "How should we reach you?" Two compelled fields take a decision away from somebody who may have a reason for it — a shared inbox, a work device, a household. One field with a choice collects the route they will actually answer on.
- "Urgency level (1–5)" against three named options. A scale asks for a self-assessment with no anchor. This week, this month, no particular deadline are three states a person can recognize themselves in, and they sort a callback list without anybody having to interpret a three.
On the third field the placeholder does more work than the label. Four rows and the words "in a sentence or two" produce two or three sentences. Twelve rows and no placeholder produce either a blank or two thousand words.
Which three fields should most firms cut?
Three, and every one of them is on the form because somebody upstream wanted a report.
1. The practice-area dropdown. It asks a stranger to classify their own matter into the firm's internal categories. Somebody dismissed after raising a safety concern does not know whether that is employment, whistleblowing or something else, and whichever they choose routes the matter to a desk chosen by a guess. The sentence in field three already contains the answer, and a person at the firm reads it in four seconds.
2. The budget or case-value question. "What is your budget for this matter" reads as a means test administered by a firm that has not said what anything costs. Of 62 questions buyers ask across these searches, 15 are price questions — measured 3 August 2026 — so the traffic on that subject runs the other way. Publish what an initial conversation costs and the field stops being needed.
3. The required document upload. The person is on a telephone. The paperwork is in a drawer, in an email they cannot find, or not yet issued. A required upload converts every one of those into an abandoned form. Send a link after somebody has spoken to them.
A fourth worth naming: "Have you consulted another attorney about this matter?" A reasonable question at the right moment, and suspicion at first contact.
What should be marked required, and what breaks when everything is?
Three required fields, and the fourth left optional on purpose.
| Field | Required | What happens if this is wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Your name | Yes | Without it the reply has nobody to address |
| How to reach you | Yes | Without it there is no reply at all |
| What happened | Yes | Without it the callback starts from nothing |
| How soon it matters | No | Compelling it produces a guess that sorts the list wrongly |
Marking everything required is the most common fault, and the damage is not the asterisks. It is the error state. Somebody who wrote three careful sentences, pressed the button and was thrown back to a red box about a field they cannot answer does not correct it. They close the tab, and the firm never learns the submission existed, because nothing is recorded until the form validates.
Two mechanical rules that follow: validate as they type rather than on submission, and never clear what they already wrote. Both are cheap and both are frequently absent.
What goes on the client intake sheet instead?
Everything above, on a separate document, sent to somebody who has already spoken to a person at the firm.
| Section of the sheet | What it collects |
|---|---|
| Identity | Full legal name, date of birth, address, identification details |
| Contact | All routes, preferred times, who else may be spoken to |
| The matter | Dates, other parties, prior advisers, documents held |
| Referral | Where the person came from, in their own words |
| Fee arrangement | Whatever the engagement letter requires |
The sheet can be as long as it needs to be, because a decision has been made and there is now a relationship carrying it. That is the entire difference between the two documents. Firms that publish the sheet on the contact page are not asking too many questions by mistake — they are publishing the right document at the wrong moment.
What does this cost, and what will it not do?
$1,450 for the Practice Sprint, $2,900 for the build. Fixed, published, no minimum term. The form is built as part of the site rather than sold as a separate item.
In Houston, 5,400 people a month search for an immigration attorney and Google charges around $22.37 for one of those clicks; in Dallas, 4,400 at $19.34; in Atlanta, 2,900 at $19.90. Measured 3 August 2026 across 20 US cities. Forty Houston clicks at $22.37 is $894.80 of attention at Google's listed price — arithmetic on a measured figure, not a forecast.
Of the 40 legal-marketing suppliers we read in full on 3 August 2026, twelve published a price, five showed only a "from" range, eight claimed a guarantee, and one offered work with no minimum term. Never per inquiry, per matter or per client — we charge for the work, by scope and time. Referral fees are restricted in prescribed legal business, which includes personal injury, and the restriction binds the paying firm as well as the recipient. US lawyer advertising runs through ABA Model Rule 7.2(b), adopted differently by state, and how it applies to a particular firm is for that firm and its own advisers. We do not supply the system the submission lands in and we do not answer what arrives.
What this is worth where you are
In Houston, 5,400 people a month search for an immigration attorney, and Google charges around $22.37 for one of those clicks. We hold the same figures for 52 cities.
The free report gives you yours, plus which of the pages a prospective client looks for are missing from your site, and which of 40 suppliers publish a price.
Where should I read next?
On why each of these fields belongs at first contact, argued from the firm's side: law firm client intake forms.
On the words around the form, and who writes them: lawyer content marketing and marketing consultant for law firm.
Two practice areas where the wording of field three matters most: employment lawyer marketing and divorce lawyer marketing.
If the first contact is arriving from somewhere other than search: lawyer marketing video.
Frequently asked questions
What fields should a sample law firm intake form have?
Four: name, one chosen way to be reached, what happened in a sentence or two, and how soon it matters. Above the button, one static line giving the firm's reply window and who reads the submissions.
What is the difference between an intake form and a client intake sheet?
The form is public and asks to be called. The sheet is private, sent after somebody has spoken to a person at the firm, and collects identity, contact routes, matter details, referral source and whatever the engagement letter requires.
Which fields should a law firm cut from its intake form?
The practice-area dropdown, the budget or case-value question, and the required document upload. A fourth worth cutting is asking whether the person has consulted another attorney, which reads as suspicion at first contact.
Why not use a practice-area dropdown?
Because it asks a stranger to classify their own matter into the firm's internal categories, which they cannot do reliably. The sentence describing what happened already contains the answer.
Should every field be required?
No. Three of the four should be, and the urgency field should not, because compelling it produces a guess. The real damage from over-requiring is the error state, where somebody who wrote three careful sentences is thrown back to a red box and closes the tab.
How should the urgency question be asked?
As three named options — this week, this month, no particular deadline — rather than a one-to-five scale. Named states are answerable and they sort a callback list without anybody having to interpret a three.
What does the intake form cost to build?
It is part of the build at $2,900 or the Practice Sprint at $1,450, both fixed and published with no minimum term. It is not a separate line item, and no part of any fee is calculated per inquiry.