For law firms & notaries

Law firm client intake: collect ID, matter details and documents through one link.

Open a matter with the client’s ID documents in the file, the other parties named for your conflict check and the matter papers already uploaded — and a record of who accepted what, and when, for the day someone asks.

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What you need from a new client before opening a matter

From an individual: proof of identity, proof of address dated within the last three months, the type of matter and a description, the names of the other parties for your conflict check, who is paying your fees and from what source, and their agreement to your terms of engagement. From a company: its registration number and certificate, registered address, its beneficial owners of 25% or more, the source of funds, confirmation that the person instructing is authorised (with a board resolution or power of attorney where one is needed), and proof of identity from each director, owner and contact. Intaky’s legal client onboarding template asks for exactly this, section by section, through one link. The full list, with the reasons behind each item, is in our legal client intake checklist.

Why client intake is where matters go wrong

  • The client is paying for advice, not for filling in forms, and every extra email you send asking for a passport costs goodwill you would rather spend later.
  • Conflict checks need the other parties’ names before anyone does substantive work. In an email thread that detail arrives in paragraph four, if at all.
  • A company client means a director’s ID, the company’s registration and a board resolution — from three different people who each think someone else is handling it.
  • When a file is questioned a year later, “who reviewed this ID and when” has to be answerable from the record, not from memory.

Intaky does not replace your case management system, your identity checks or your professional judgement. It gets the matter to the point where all three can start.

The legal client onboarding template

A starter pack for individual and company clients. Each document sits in the section it evidences, the client is not asked again for the name and email they signed up with, and every client ends with declarations. Rename, remove or add anything in the form builder; the matter-type list is yours to edit, and you can make one link per practice area.

Legal client onboarding — questions
  • Personal detailsIndividual clients: date of birth, phone, residential address, occupation
  • Matter detailsType of matter, description, other parties involved (required, for conflict checking), urgency, key deadline
  • Source of fundsWho is paying your fees and from what source; the source of any money for the transaction
  • Company details, ownership & matterCompany clients, filled in by the person instructing: registration number, registered address, industry, beneficial owners of 25% or more, source of funds, the matter and the other parties
  • Your identityEach director, owner or contact invited to a company application: only their own date of birth and residential address
  • DeclarationsAccuracy, consent to your identity and anti-money-laundering checks, terms of engagement; for a company, authority to instruct
Legal client onboarding — documents
  • ✓ Proof of identity Required, from the individual client and from every person on a company client
  • ✓ Proof of address, within 3 months Required, individual clients
  • ✓ Matter documents Optional, several files: contracts, correspondence, court papers
  • ✓ Business registration Required, company clients
  • ✓ Ownership structure chart Optional, for group or layered ownership
  • ✓ Authority to act Optional: board resolution or power of attorney
Civil registry & notary — questions
  • Personal detailsSingle-party requests: full name exactly as on the ID, date of birth, ID or passport number, phone, address
  • Service requestedPower of attorney, deed or contract certification, signature witnessing, certified copies; details; preferred appointment date; free-will declaration
  • Case detailsMulti-party cases, filled in by the party managing it: marriage registration, property transfer or joint agreement; intended date, venue
  • Party detailsEach party: full name as on the ID, date of birth, ID number, marital status, address, and a declaration made of their own free will
Civil registry & notary — documents
  • ✓ Proof of identity Required, from every party; the original comes to the appointment
  • ✓ Documents for certification Optional, several files
  • ✓ Case documents Optional: deeds, agreements, property papers
  • ✓ Civil status certificate Optional, e.g. certificate of single status for a marriage

For notaries, the civil registry & notary template (the second pair of cards) handles single-party requests and cases with several parties: the case is filled in once and each party gives only their own details. It is the one pack that asks for a full name, because it must match the ID document exactly.

Files are held in private storage that is never publicly addressable; every download is checked against who is asking. Clients access their portal through a secure email link, with no password to remember. Your team can enable two-step verification.

How it runs for a practice

01

Individual or company, one link each

A company client’s application has a company part and a people part. The person instructing fills in the company, its ownership and the matter, then invites the directors and owners by email; each of them fills in only their own identity and uploads only their own ID.

02

Review with a note, not a phone call

Accept the passport. Send back the proof of address because it is four months old, with one line saying so. The client sees only that item to fix; the accepted items stay locked.

03

Keep the trail

Every acceptance, rejection and approval is stamped with the reviewer’s name and time, and internal notes stay internal. Export the case as a PDF summary with its documents attached when the file needs to travel.

Questions law firms ask about client intake

How do I collect ID from every director of a company client?

Invite each of them to the company's application. The person instructing fills in the company details, ownership and the matter; each invited director, beneficial owner or contact fills in only their own date of birth and address and uploads their own passport or national ID. You see on one screen who has not started.

How do I get the other parties' names for a conflict check before work starts?

Make it a required question at intake. The template's matter details section asks for everyone on the other side or otherwise involved, and the client cannot submit without answering it, so the names reach you before anyone does substantive work.

How do I stop chasing clients for a missing passport or proof of address?

Send one link with a due date and let the reminders do the chasing. Intaky can remind the client every few days, in working hours only and at most six times, until they finish. When you send an item back, the client sees only that item to fix; everything you accepted stays locked.

Does Intaky run identity, AML or sanctions checks?

No. Intaky collects the evidence, records the client's consent to your identity and anti-money-laundering checks, and records who reviewed what and when. It does not run electronic identity verification, PEP or sanctions screening, and it does not decide what your regulator requires of you. Treat it as the organised collection step in front of whatever checks your policy calls for.

Does it work for notaries and civil registry offices?

Yes. The civil registry & notary template takes single-party requests, such as a power of attorney, certified copies or signature witnessing, and multi-party cases such as a marriage registration or property transfer, where each party gives their own identity, ID number and declaration.

Can we set a deadline?

Yes. Each link can carry a due date; the client sees it, your team sees which cases are late, and Intaky can send reminders until the client finishes.

Where does the client data end up?

In your workspace, exportable as a PDF summary per case, or pushed by webhook into your own system when a case is approved. Close the workspace and the contents are deleted within 30 days.

Other industries: all industries · Accountants · Immigration advisers · KYC & vendor onboarding

Plan your first request

Preview a checklist and download the editable CSV without signing up. Adapt it to your process before building the request in Intaky.

Open the next matter this way.

One template, one link, and the ID documents in the file before the first meeting.

Create your workspace

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