Bankruptcy Intake

Bankruptcy Law Intake Training

Bankruptcy callers are often embarrassed, behind on bills and afraid of being judged. The call has to be steady and plain, and it has to handle the fee conversation honestly, because money is the reason they are calling.

Start With the Call Audit or book a conversation

What is different about bankruptcy intake

Callers are anxious about money and about being judged, so the first minute decides whether they stay on the line.
The fee question is central, and a vague answer sounds like one more person avoiding the subject.
Callers may be calling in the middle of collection pressure, so urgency is real and the next step has to be quick.

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

The embarrassed caller

The caller says: "I do not even know how to say this. I am just so far behind."

What most desks say

"Do not worry, a lot of people are in your situation. Let us know when you want to set something up."

Kind, generic, and it ends with no next step.

What a trained desk says

"Thank you for calling. It takes something to make this call. You do not have to explain everything now. Tell me what is going on, and I will ask a few questions so the attorney has what she needs. Then I will tell you how the consultation works and what it costs."

The caller is steadied, the structure of the call is set out, and the fee is promised in advance so it is not a surprise.

The fee question

The caller says: "I am already out of money. How can I pay a lawyer?"

What most desks say

"It depends. The attorney will talk to you about fees."

The fear is real and the answer is a dodge.

What a trained desk says

"That is a fair worry. Here is how it works: [the firm's consultation terms and how it explains fees and payment]. The consultation is where the attorney explains what applies to your situation. Would Thursday at ten or Friday at two be easier?"

The concern is acknowledged, the firm's own terms are stated and the case is not evaluated.

Questions that always go to the attorney

These come up on bankruptcy calls all the time. Intake does not answer them; it hands them off with the fixed line and asks for the next step.

"Will I lose my house?"
"Can they garnish my wages?"
"Which chapter should I file?"

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 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.