Here's the fear we hear from intake staff: a caller starts telling their story, and halfway through you realize the person they're describing is your firm's client. Now you've heard things you can't unhear, and an attorney has to sort out what it means.
That's why conflict checks belong at the very front of intake. Names first, facts second. This post covers what to collect, when to run the check and how to keep a caller from oversharing before you've cleared it.
We're not your ethics counsel, and the rules vary by state. Treat this as a practical starting point and confirm the details with your state's version of the rules.
Why it has to happen at intake
Under ABA Model Rule 1.18, a person who talks to a firm about possibly hiring it is a prospective client, and the firm owes them duties even if they never sign. What they tell you can, in some situations, create a conflict that affects the firm's ability to keep representing an existing client.
The comments to the rule say the lawyer should limit the initial consultation to the information that reasonably appears necessary to decide whether to take the matter. ABA Formal Opinion 510 goes further on what "reasonably necessary" means, and the ABA's Business Law Today summary is a readable overview.
States adopt their own versions of these rules, and they don't all match. Ask your attorney or your state bar's ethics line how your jurisdiction handles it.
The practical takeaway for intake is simple. Get the names, run the check, and keep the story short until it clears.
What to collect for a conflict check
Collect every name that could matter, not just the caller's.
The prospective client
- Full legal name
- Former names, maiden names and nicknames they go by
- Spouse or partner's name, if relevant to the matter
- Businesses they own or control
The other side
- Opposing party's full name
- Opposing party's former or maiden names
- Their spouse or new partner, if involved
- Businesses or entities on the other side
- The other side's lawyer, if known
Everyone else involved
- Co-parties, co-defendants or co-owners
- Related entities like parent companies, trusts or LLCs
- Witnesses or family members who are likely to play a role
Former names catch a lot of people out. A divorce caller's spouse might have been a client years ago under a different last name. If you only run the current name, the check comes back clean and wrong.
Practice-area notes
Who counts as a party depends on the matter. A few examples:
- Family law. Both spouses with all prior names, any new partners involved in the dispute, and grandparents or others seeking custody.
- Criminal defense. The accused, any co-defendants and, where your firm's policy calls for it, the alleged victim or complaining witness.
- Immigration. The person seeking status, any petitioner or sponsor, and the employer in employment-based matters.
- Estate planning. The client, their spouse, and anyone they're naming or leaving out who might later contest.
- Probate. The person who died, the proposed personal representative, heirs, beneficiaries and anyone threatening a dispute.
- Bankruptcy. The debtor, a spouse if filing jointly, and the main creditors. A full creditor list usually comes later, but run what you have.
Ask your attorneys which names they want on every check for each practice area, then write it into your intake script.
When to run it
Run the check before an attorney hears substantive facts. In practice, that means:
- Intake collects contact info and names.
- Intake gets a one-line description of the matter type, like "custody modification" or "DUI arrest."
- Someone runs the check against your client and matter records.
- Only after it clears does the attorney get the full story, usually at the consult.
If you book consults on the first call, build in time to run the check before the consult happens. A booked consult with an uncleared conflict is a cancellation waiting to happen.
How to keep callers from oversharing
People call a lawyer because they want to tell someone what happened. Stopping them feels rude. A short explanation up front makes it feel normal.
"Before you tell me what happened, I need to get a few names. We check every new matter against our records first. It's standard, and it protects you too."
If the caller starts telling the story anyway:
"I want to hear all of that, and the attorney will too. Let me grab the names first so we can make sure we're able to help."
Keep the matter description to a sentence. "My ex isn't following the custody order" is enough to route the call. The details of what happened last weekend can wait until the check clears.
What to do when there's a hit
A possible conflict isn't intake's call to make. Flag it and hand it to the attorney.
- Don't tell the caller who the conflict is with or why.
- Don't confirm or deny that the firm represents anyone.
- Don't take more facts while the attorney decides.
- Document what you collected and when.
If the attorney decides the firm can't take it, keep the message short and kind.
"I'm sorry, we're not able to take this matter. I'd recommend reaching out to your state or local bar's lawyer referral service so you can talk with someone soon."
Keep the check current
A clean check at intake isn't the last word. Re-run it when:
- New parties show up later in the matter.
- The caller mentions a business or trust you didn't know about.
- A related matter comes in for the same family.
Where IntakeGenius fits
To be clear, IntakeGenius doesn't run conflict checks. That stays with your firm and your records. What we can do is build your intake interview so the AI voice agent asks for every party name, including former names, before it gets into details, and IntakeCRM puts those names in front of your team in one place. If your firm uses MyCase or Clio, see our integrations page.
For the rest of the call flow, our law firm intake checklist template puts this step in context. And if you'd like to talk through how names-first intake would work at your firm, book a 15-minute call with us. No slides.