Guide

30-60-90 day onboarding plan for a law firm intake specialist

A new intake specialist is usually handed a script and a phone. A plan that sequences the learning gets them to a standard faster and protects callers while they learn.
Last reviewed October 29, 2026 · By Dr. Jeffrey Scott Stanton, DCH

Before day one

Write the firm's fee wording, hand-off line and conflict-check steps in one page and have the attorney approve it.
Give the new person the scorecard so they know how calls are judged from the start.
Choose a reviewer who will score their calls weekly. Agree the day and time now.

See the script template and the scorecard guide.

Days 1 to 30: learn the structure and the line

Week 1. Learn the five stages, the firm's approved wording and the boundary with the attorney. Listen to recorded calls that the firm has chosen as examples.
Week 2. Role-play the common moments: the fee question, "I need to think about it", the angry caller, the caller who asks for advice. Use the six moments in this role-play set.
Weeks 3 and 4. Start taking live calls with a second person listening, then alone on lower-risk calls. Score every call in the first weeks.

Goal for the first month: the person states the fee plainly, uses the hand-off line without exception and asks for a next step on every call.

Days 31 to 60: build consistency

Score a sample of calls each week and review one together. Pick one moment to work on, not five.
Add the follow-up process: how and when to contact callers who did not book. See the follow-up guide.
Look for the first pattern. Most people show one of the 13 desk patterns by now.

Goal for the second month: the person completes all five stages on most calls and can name their own habit when they hear it back.

Days 61 to 90: own the desk

Review results with the person: calls handled, consultations booked, follow-up completed and score trend, from the firm's own records.
Set one goal for the next quarter, agreed with the person, tied to a moment on the scorecard and not only to a number.
Decide the ongoing rhythm: weekly review, monthly scorecard, quarterly reassessment.

Goal for the third month: a self-correcting person who reviews their own calls and a manager who knows what to look for.

Keep the firm's limits in view

Throughout, the person does not give legal advice or evaluate cases. Training them on the line in week one matters more than any technique. See the line between intake and the attorney.

Keep reading

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 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.

The method, the scripts and the scorecard are on how it works, the script template and the scorecard guide.

Start With the Calls

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