Dear Reader,
I want to take the time to talk to you about the legal intake process. The “legal intake process” refers to the process a person undergoes when searching for an attorney. When a person calls a law firm in search of legal representation, that person will have to answer preliminary questions about their legal matter. The process of answering questions and telling your story to a law firm is considered “intake.” For those undergoing the search for an attorney, I want to share insight about the legal intake process that may be shocking. While society often makes the process sound easy with quips like, “you need a lawyer,” or “go get an attorney,” when the reality can be much more difficult. Unfortunately, the process of finding and securing an attorney is often incredibly difficult, surprisingly emotional, and, in extreme situations, it can even be re-traumatizing.
Typically, when people find themselves in situations where they need an attorney it means something bad – if not, horrible – has happened. The event causing a need for an attorney could be as severe as an immediate crisis, or, it may be something that happened months ago. Still, when you’re in the process of calling for an attorney, you’re in the process of talking about difficult life events with complete strangers who are in work mode. On rare occasions, the person searching for an attorney will find a firm they connect with on their first intake call. Usually, most people have to call multiple law firms before finding an attorney and firm they connect with. When this happens, you will be required to repeat the difficult life event multiple times, ordinarily in a rushed manner while being interrupted with additional questions, to complete strangers. Sometimes it can be an incredibly emotional intake process because of the damage of the legal matter. Sometimes people become triggered, re-experiencing emotions or memories from when the legal violation occurred, and it’s important to let those emotions flow naturally. If you’re lucky, you’ll connect with a trauma-informed law firm that prioritizes humanizing and caring for clients, like Manifest Justice Law Corporation.
All law firms are not created equally. Law firms that are not trauma-informed will meet potential clients with less care during intake. Attorneys are notoriously emotionally unavailable and emotionally stunted – which is why we have firms that are intentionally designed to be trauma-conscious, like Manifest Justice Law Corporation. Some firms, and attorneys, will be better equipped to meet the needs of their clients than others. You can also run into attorneys who answer their own phones, attempting to do intake in the midst of their business day. These attorneys often aren’t in the correct mind frame to appropriately respond to such important and emotionally heavy conversations because they are thinking about other work tasks. These factors greatly impact the level of care that a person looking for an attorney receives.
So, what can people looking for an attorney do to mentally, emotionally, and actually prepare for legal intake? First, prepare for a shocking lack of empathy. Consider the intake process as professional as undergoing an interview, but without the dress code requirements. Instead of a resume or cover letter, prepare to share your top 3 pieces of evidence with the attorney. Second, prepare to advocate for yourself. If anyone treats you with disrespect, shaming, or blaming, or in any way makes you uncomfortable, disengage and find a different law firm. If you need more time to answer a question fully, or more clarity on a question asked, tell them. Finally, don’t be deterred by a few “no”s. When you genuinely feel you have experienced a legal violation, but a law firm tells you they are unable to help you, keep calling other local law firms. You will make a more educated decision about your legal claims if you evaluate the feedback received after calling 10-15 law firms, rather than just 1 or 2.
I hope this helps! If not, find more insights about the intake process on our MJLC podcast.
Signed,
Carlie Jones, Esq.