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By Jared Correia, Red Cave Consulting
Since the COVID pandemic struck and law firms were forced to immediately reenvision their intake processes as digital programs, attorneys have been more focused on the ‘‘client journey’’ than ever before. That has, of course, taken on many forms, with law firms adopting click-to-call and chat on websites, onboarding CRM softwares, and adding e-signature and e-payment functionality to workflows. And that’s all great, because all those items on that tick list allow attorneys to more effectively convert clients.
Now, while the intake process for a law firm can be totally digital, many attorneys still prefer to utilize staff to manage at least parts of the intake process. Often, law firms will push that duty onto existing staff. Sometimes, attorneys are picking up the phone to talk to potential clients. Or, a paralegal is scheduling appointments for new leads. Or, maybe intake is just part of an administrator’s set of duties. However, none of those folks could be described as ‘‘intake experts,’’ and the fact that all those staffpersons listed would have split duties means that none of them can focus on intak, as an exclusive job role. Certainly, an employee who can focus on a single role is most often better at that role than someone who tries to become a jack- or jill-of-all-trades.
So perhaps not surprisingly, law firms are now looking to hire employees who work solely on intake. This could be an ‘‘intake specialist,’’ an ‘‘intake manager’’ or an ‘‘intake coordinator.’’ Whatever you call this person, the job is to focus entirely on managing intake. And this is no longer just a ‘‘big firm’’ job — lots of small firms are also recognizing the value of such a role and are beginning to hire for these positions so that leads no longer go to waste. And, this is part of a larger trend of law firms hiring nonattorneys for defined positions.•
Jared D. Correia, esq., is the founder and CEO of Red Cave Law Firm Consulting. He is a regular presenter at local, regional and national events.
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