Builds a matter-specific intake questionnaire to send before the first consultation. Reach for it when a matter type walks in that your standard form was not built for.
[PRACTICE AREA] ·[STATE] ·[MATTER TYPE]
## Context
You are an intake specialist for a solo law firm. The attorney practices [PRACTICE AREA] in [STATE]. A prospective client contacted the firm about a [MATTER TYPE] matter. The questionnaire goes out before the first consultation so the attorney can run a conflict check, spot deadlines, and prepare.
## Task
Draft an intake questionnaire for this matter type. Use these sections: contact and identity; adverse and related parties; facts of the matter; key dates and deadlines; prior counsel and pending proceedings; documents to bring; goals and expectations. Write 25 to 40 questions total.
## Standards
- Plain language a non-lawyer understands at first read. If a legal term is unavoidable, define it in one sentence.
- One fact per question. No compound questions.
- The adverse-parties section must ask for full legal names, maiden or former names, and any businesses the parties own or control. This feeds the conflict check.
- Include questions that surface deadline risk: the date of the incident or transaction, and whether the client has been served with or has filed any court papers, with dates.
- Mark any question that depends on state law with [ATTORNEY REVIEW].
- Output a numbered list under bold section headings. No cover note, no closing.
If the matter type is too vague to draft useful questions, ask what you need before drafting.
BEFORE YOU RUN IT
- Practice area and state.
- The matter type in one or two sentences — keep it generic; this prompt needs no client-identifying data.
- Questions your current form already covers that you want kept.
- Your delivery format: web form, PDF, or email body.
VERIFY BEFORE IT LEAVES YOUR HANDS
- Adverse-party questions ask for full names, former names, and related entities — your conflict check is only as good as these answers.
- At least two questions pin down the dates that control limitations periods.
- Every [ATTORNEY REVIEW] flag checked against your state's law before the form goes out.
- No question asks the prospect for another person's privileged or sealed information.
- Nothing in the form implies representation has begun — it must read as pre-engagement screening.
- Read it aloud once. Cut any question a nervous non-lawyer would misread.
Sample output
Sample output — AI-generated from sample inputs (residential landlord-tenant deposit dispute, Texas):
**Section 2 — Adverse and Related Parties**
4. What is the full legal name of your landlord, exactly as it appears on your lease?
5. Has your landlord used any other name or business name you know of? List each one.
6. Who is the property management company, if any?
7. What is the full address of the rental property?
**Section 4 — Key Dates and Deadlines**
12. On what date did you move out of the property?
13. On what date did you give your landlord your forwarding address in writing? [ATTORNEY REVIEW — Texas Property Code § 92.103 ties the 30-day refund deadline to this date.]
14. Have you received any portion of your deposit back? If so, how much and when?
15. Have you received an itemized list of deductions? If so, on what date?
16. Have you or the landlord filed anything in court about this dispute? Give the date and court if yes.
CUSTOMIZATION Swap the section list for transactional matters — replace key dates and deadlines with transaction timeline and closing date. Contingency practices should add a damages and treatment section. If you run intake through a web form, ask for output as field labels with input types instead of a numbered list.
Drafts a complete hourly engagement letter: scope, rates, retainer, trust handling, and termination. Use it once the conflict check clears and before substantive work starts.
[ATTORNEY NAME] ·[STATE] ·[CLIENT NAME] ·[MATTER DESCRIPTION] ·[HOURLY RATE] ·[RETAINER AMOUNT] ·[BILLING FREQUENCY]
## Context
You are drafting an engagement letter for [ATTORNEY NAME], a solo attorney licensed in [STATE]. The client is [CLIENT NAME]. The matter: [MATTER DESCRIPTION]. Billing: [HOURLY RATE] per hour, a [RETAINER AMOUNT] retainer deposited in the firm's trust account, billed [BILLING FREQUENCY].
## Task
Draft the engagement letter. Required sections: identification of the client and matter; scope of representation, including what is excluded; fees and costs, separating the hourly fee from expenses; retainer and trust account handling, including replenishment and refund of unearned funds; billing and payment terms; client responsibilities; how either party may end the representation; and file retention. Close with signature blocks for attorney and client.
## Standards
- Plain English. A client reads this once and signs it — write for that reading.
- The scope section names the specific matter and states that new or related matters need a new agreement.
- State that the retainer is the client's money until earned and that unearned amounts are refunded.
- No outcome promises anywhere. Include a sentence that the attorney cannot guarantee results.
- Mark anything that depends on state trust-account or fee rules with [ATTORNEY REVIEW].
- 600 to 900 words. Letter format with a letterhead placeholder.
If any billing term is missing — rate, retainer, costs treatment — ask rather than insert a default.
BEFORE YOU RUN IT
- Client name, matter description, and the exact scope you agreed to in consultation.
- Rate, retainer amount, billing cycle, and how you charge costs: copies, filing fees, experts.
- Your state's trust account rule at hand for the [ATTORNEY REVIEW] pass.
- Confidentiality: the matter description may identify the client. Remove identifying details and add them back after, or confirm your AI tool sits under your firm's confidentiality and bar guidance per ABA Formal Opinion 512.
VERIFY BEFORE IT LEAVES YOUR HANDS
- Scope matches what you told the client in consultation — a scope gap here is a malpractice trap.
- Retainer and trust language complies with your state's version of Rule 1.15. Check it against the rule text, not memory.
- Fee terms satisfy Rule 1.5, in writing where your state requires it.
- No sentence promises or implies an outcome.
- Termination and file-retention terms match your state bar's requirements and your actual practice.
- Excluded work — appeals, collections, related claims — is stated, not assumed.
- You read the whole letter before sending. AI output is never sent unverified.
Sample output
Sample output — AI-generated from sample inputs (Dana Whitfield representing Janet Okafor, boundary dispute, $300/hr, $3,000 retainer):
Re: Engagement of Whitfield Law PLLC — Okafor boundary dispute
Dear Ms. Okafor:
Thank you for choosing this firm. This letter sets the terms of our work together. Please read it fully, then sign and return one copy.
Scope of representation. The firm will represent you in your boundary and encroachment dispute with the owner of the parcel at 412 Harlow Road, including negotiation and, if needed, filing suit in the county district court. This engagement does not include any appeal, any claim against your title insurer, or any unrelated matter. New matters need a new written agreement.
Fees. My rate is $300 per hour, billed in tenths of an hour. Paralegal time bills at $110 per hour. You will receive an itemized statement each month.
Retainer and trust account. You will deposit $3,000 in the firm's trust account [ATTORNEY REVIEW — confirm IOLTA language your state rule requires]. That money remains yours until earned. I will bill against it and ask you to replenish it when it falls below $1,000. Any unearned balance is refunded when the matter ends.
No guarantee. I will work diligently on your matter. No attorney can promise a result, and I do not.
CUSTOMIZATION Add your state bar's fee-arbitration notice if required — several states mandate it. Business clients need a paragraph naming who can give instructions. If you use evergreen retainers or alternative billing on some matters, build one variant per billing model rather than editing each time. Do not label any retainer nonrefundable without checking your state's rule.