Family Law Intake

Family Law Intake Training

Family law callers are often at the hardest moment of their lives, afraid of the cost, and unsure they are ready to act. The call has to be warm and still end on a next step.

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What is different about family law intake

The method does not change. The five stages, the 14-item scorecard and the boundary are the same. What changes is the wording, the questions to ask and where the pressure shows up.

Two Calls

The same moment, answered two ways

"I am not sure I am ready"

The caller says: "I do not know if I am ready to do anything yet. I just want to know my options."

What most desks say

"Of course. Call us when you are ready."

Compassionate, and the call ends with no next step.

What a trained desk says

"That is what the first meeting is for, and nothing is decided in it. What would you most want to be clear on? ... Then Thursday at ten would give you that. Would you like me to hold it until Wednesday so you have time to decide?"

The caller is heard first, the consultation is described in their terms, and a slot is held.

Safe contact

The caller says: "My husband does not know I am calling."

What most desks say

"Okay, we will call you back at this number."

The firm may leave a message the caller never meant anyone to hear.

What a trained desk says

"Thank you for telling me. Is it safe for us to leave a voicemail at this number? Would email or a text be better, and is there a time that is best to reach you?"

Contact preferences are asked and recorded before anything else. This is process, not advice.

Questions that always go to the attorney

These come up on family law calls all the time. Intake does not answer them; it hands them off with the fixed line and asks for the next step.

The hand-off wording and the full boundary are on the line between intake and the attorney. Wording on this page is an example only; the firm and the attorney set the final wording against their jurisdiction's rules. Scope, plainly: everything on this site concerns the conversation that turns an inquiry into an engagement. Nothing here is legal advice, nothing touches the legal work or the attorney's judgment, and any wording a firm adopts is reviewed by the firm against its jurisdiction's rules on attorney advertising, solicitation and fee communication before it is used.

About the Author
Dr. Jeffrey Scott Stanton, DCH

Dr. Jeffrey Scott Stanton, DCH is a behavioral strategist and the founder and Chief Learning Officer of R2R Diagnostic Group. He is the former EVP of Learning & Development at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, where he trained sales professionals on the conversations that turn an inquiry into a commitment. He applies the same method, the R2R Assessment and a 14-item call-review scorecard, to law firm intake teams. The work is the conversation only; legal questions and judgment stay with the attorney.

More on the method, the scripts, the dialogues and the scorecard is on the legal intake pages at jeffreyscottstanton.com.

Start With the Calls

Start with the family law calls you already have.

Send a handful of recordings or transcripts and get a scored review of where consultations are being lost.

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