Personal Injury Intake

Personal Injury Intake Training

Personal injury callers are hurt, frustrated and often already talking to an insurer. They want to know if they have a case before they come in, and a desk that answers that question has crossed the line.

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What is different about personal injury 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

"Do I have a case?"

The caller says: "Before I book anything, can you just tell me if I have a case?"

What most desks say

"From what you are telling me, you probably do. Come in and we will go over it."

Intake has just evaluated the case, and the ask is weak.

What a trained desk says

"That is exactly the question for the attorney, and I do not want to guess at it. I am writing it down so she has it in front of her and goes through it with you at the consultation. Would Thursday at ten or Friday at two be easier?"

The question is handed to the attorney, the caller hears it will not be lost, and the call ends on two time options.

The comparison call

The caller says: "I am talking to a couple of firms. How does your fee work?"

What most desks say

"Everyone does it the same way. Let us know if you want to come in."

The fee is waved away and nothing is asked for.

What a trained desk says

"Fair to compare. Here is how ours works: [the firm's fee arrangement, as the firm states it]. I would suggest Thursday at ten so the attorney can hear everything. If you want to compare first, I will hold it until noon tomorrow and call you then."

The firm's own terms are stated plainly, with a held slot and an agreed follow-up.

Questions that always go to the attorney

These come up on personal injury 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 personal injury 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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