Law · free · about 4 minutes
Get from First Call to Signed Engagement in One Week: The 8-Check Conflict + Intake Scorecard for Law Firms Nationwide
The prospective client called at 9. By 4, nobody had run the conflict check, and the firm down the street had sent an engagement letter. The fee walks out with the caller. It happens in firms where intake sits with whoever is free.
The Law Firm Conflict + Intake Scorecard is a free, self-scoring checklist of eight checks for law firms nationwide, run remotely across the United States by Rodgers Intelligence Group, based in Denver, Colorado. Mike Rodgers wrote the checks and answers every question himself. Each check is a written rule: it says what in place looks like and gives a stated fix when the check fails.
Your answers never leave this page. The scorecard runs in your browser. Nothing is stored, nothing is sent, and there is no email field. Demonstration, not a client result.
The 8-check scorecard
Answer each check. Your result updates as you go. If a check is missing or partial, its fix appears underneath. The result is a finished document you keep: a score, a verdict and a fix list. Its acceptance test is written down: every check answered and every failing check carrying a named fix with its minutes estimate. The eight checks on this page are the rulebook behind it, shown in full before you run anything. The One-Workflow Review is finished work too: a written readout within ten business days after required access, yours to keep and to hand to any vendor.
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Check 1
The conflict check runs before any substantive advice
In place No merits discussion, no strategy, no 'here is what I would do' until the conflict search is clean.
If it fails Make it a written intake rule: conflict first, advice second. It protects the firm and it takes one sentence in the intake checklist. (about 5 minutes)
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Check 2
The search covers entities and affiliates, not just exact names
In place Parent companies, trade names, spouses and related entities are searched, not only the name the caller gave you.
If it fails Add a 'parties and entities' box to your intake form and search every entry. Missed conflicts hide in the affiliate. (about 20 minutes)
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Check 3
The conflict result is documented in the file
In place Who ran the search, when, what was searched and what came back - in the matter file, not in someone's memory.
If it fails One conflict memo per matter: search terms, date, initials. It is the cheapest malpractice insurance the firm can buy. (about 10 minutes)
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Check 4
New inquiries get an answer within one business hour
In place During business hours, a human responds to every new inquiry within the hour, even if the answer is 'we will call you back at 2'.
If it fails Assign the intake phone and the intake inbox to one named person per day. Speed is the whole game at this step. (about 5 minutes)
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Check 5
Matter type and fee basis are decided before the letter
In place Someone with authority decides scope and fee basis first, so the engagement letter confirms instead of negotiates.
If it fails Write your standard fee basis per matter type on one page. The letter becomes a formality instead of a debate. (about 30 minutes)
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Check 6
Engagement letter and retainer request go out the same day
In place Letter and trust/retainer instructions leave the office the day the fee basis is decided.
If it fails Template both documents tonight, e-signature ready. Same-day delivery is the difference between signed and shopped. (about 45 minutes)
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Check 7
Trust funds are received before work begins
In place Work does not start on an unearned retainer, and jurisdiction trust-accounting rules are followed exactly.
If it fails Make the file status 'hold' until funds clear. No exceptions, no 'we will sort it out later'. (about 15 minutes)
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Check 8
Intake data is keyed once
In place Name, entity, contact and matter data flow into the case system from the intake form, not retyped three times.
If it fails Copy the intake form fields into the case system the day you create the matter. Retyping is where conflicts and typos come from. (about 20 minutes)
Fix these, in this order:
What your score means
- 8 of 8: Your intake converts and protects the firm. The next gain is capacity: look at matter pricing and staffing before buying more leads.
- 6-7 of 8: You are losing sign-ups to timing and risking conflicts in the same gap. Fix the two failing checks; most are rules and templates.
- 5 or fewer: Every hour of intake silence is a signed engagement elsewhere. Fix checks 1, 3 and 4 first: conflict rule, documented result, one-hour answer.
What the current process costs
Nobody sends a bill for the current process, which is why it survives. The work lands on the intake coordinator or whichever associate is free that hour, and the eight fixes above carry their own minutes. Add the minutes for the checks that failed on your scorecard and multiply by what an hour of that time costs you. The answer is your own number for one new matter, and you are the only person who can compute it.
Hold that number against the routes on this page. Fixing the checks yourself costs the minutes printed on each fix. The RIG One-Workflow Review is a $3,500 fixed fee, with a written readout within ten business days after required access, and the readout is yours to use with any vendor or internally. Fewer than three failing checks says the fix list is the right route; three or more says the workflow is worth a written look.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Law Firm Conflict + Intake Scorecard?
It is a free, self-scoring checklist of eight checks for law firms nationwide. Each check states what in place looks like and gives a plain-language fix with a minutes estimate when it fails. You finish with a score, a verdict and a fix list.
How long does it take?
About four minutes. You answer each check as in place, partial or missing, and the score and verdict update as you go.
Where do my answers go?
Nowhere. The scorecard runs in your browser: nothing is stored or sent and there is no email field. Your result appears on the page and stays with you.
What happens after the score, and what does the next step cost?
Fixing the checks yourself costs nothing beyond the minutes each fix carries, and the free 12-check Client Intake Test Kit needs no email. If three or more checks fail, the RIG One-Workflow Review is a $3,500 fixed fee with a written readout within ten business days after required access; it is not a retainer, and details are at rodgersintelligence.com/workflow-review.
More questions, answered directly
What does my score mean?
The score counts the checks that are in place. The verdict under it says whether the workflow or the effort is the problem, and the fix list names the failing checks in the order to take them.
Do I have to buy anything to use this scorecard?
No. The scorecard is free and the answers stay in your browser, and the free 12-check Client Intake Test Kit needs no email. The One-Workflow Review is a $3,500 fixed fee, with a written readout within ten business days after required access, for the case where the workflow is the problem rather than the effort.
We are a small firm without a conflicts database. Is this still useful?
Most of the eight checks need no software. A named owner and a written rule do the work, and the scorecard measures the intake you run today, whatever holds it.
Who is behind this scorecard?
Rodgers Intelligence Group, based in Denver, Colorado. Mike Rodgers wrote the eight checks and answers every copied summary sent through rodgersintelligence.com/contact himself. The checks are written rules; nothing on this page is a client outcome.
The next step
1. Fix it yourself (right for most readers)
Every failing check above carries its own fix and a minutes estimate. Three of the eight checks are calendar or template edits you can make this week.
2. Free, ungated kit
The 12-check Client Intake Test Kit covers the whole intake surface, not just this one workflow: rodgersintelligence.com/client-intake-test-kit. No email required.
3. Priced next step, with its cost
If three or more checks fail, the honest read is that the workflow, not your effort, is the problem. The RIG One-Workflow Review is a $3,500 fixed fee, with a written readout within ten business days after required access. It is not a retainer, and you do not need an automation build for the review to be worth the fee. The readout is yours to use with any vendor or internally, and it is not credited against the build price. Details: rodgersintelligence.com/workflow-review.
When not to book it: fewer than three failing checks, no authority to change the workflow, or a project already covering this process. In those cases, fix the checks yourself and re-run this scorecard afterwards.
4. Talk to a human
Send your copied summary through rodgersintelligence.com/contact and you will get a reply from Mike Rodgers, not an autoresponder.