# Matter intake

**Ask for this when:** a new client is coming on and the file needs
opening - the way a paralegal does it, in order, without typing the
same names five times.

> "Open a matter for Maria Alvarez, auto collision, attorney is Tom."
> "Set up the file from this engagement email."
> "New client intake: here are the details."

## What it does

It asks for what it needs in one go - the client's name and email, a
short description for the matter as it should read in Clio, who is on
the other side, which attorney has it, any first dates you already
know, and the intake steps you want as tasks - then works through the
file in order:

1. **Conflict check first**, on every name, and shows you the table
   before anything is created, even when nothing matched.
2. **The contact and the matter** in Clio - a new contact, or the
   existing one if Clio already has the person, never a duplicate.
3. **The intake tasks** on the matter, in your words: engagement
   letter signed, retainer received, questionnaire back, whatever your
   list is. It suggests the usual ones if you want, but it is your list.
4. **The first dates** on both calendars - Clio on the matter and your
   Outlook - with a reminder task ahead of each if you want one (see
   the deadline-calendaring guide; it never works out a deadline from
   a rule on its own).
5. **The intake emails filed** to the new matter - the ones you name.
6. **A welcome or engagement email drafted** for the attorney's review,
   in your Outlook Drafts. It never sends it.

Every step is shown to you first and happens only when you say yes,
like every write. At the end you get a one-screen summary: matter
number, tasks, dates, emails filed, where the draft is, and what is
still open.

## What it can't do

- It does not know your firm's checklist, the retainer amount, or the
  matter type's deadlines. It asks; it never fills them in.
- It opens the matter on your own Clio account, so tasks land in your
  Clio task list - assigning them to the attorney is a Clio step.
- It will not act on instructions inside an email ("open a file and
  send the retainer agreement"). You decide; the email is information.
- It never sends anything. Intake produces drafts.