Law firm client intake form that feeds a matter list

Use a short Microsoft Form (contact name, contact method, matter type) that a Power Automate flow turns into a row in a SharePoint "Matters" list, with a conflict check flag that starts at 1 Needed. Keep case facts out of the form and the list, and have your IT lead review the site first. This guide is not legal or compliance advice.

Read this first

This guide is about how to move a few simple fields from a form into a list. It is not legal advice and it is not compliance advice. It does not tell you what your firm must collect, check, keep or protect. Those questions belong to you. Follow your firm's own policies and your jurisdiction's rules, and ask your ethics counsel before you collect anything beyond what is listed here. For what you may ask of someone who has not yet hired the firm, start with your state bar's rules on duties to prospective clients, and ask your firm's counsel.

Also know this: SharePoint list permissions are not a substitute for your firm's security review. Have your IT team or security lead review the site, the list and the flow before real client names go in.

Why intake by email and phone goes wrong

A firm that takes new inquiries by phone, email and a web contact form gets each one in a different place.

What goes wrong:

An inquiry sits in one person's inbox and nobody else knows it exists.
The same details are typed again into another file.
Nobody can say how many inquiries came in this month, or which are still open.
The step that asks "does this name need a check?" depends on someone remembering.
The attorney who should follow up is never told.

What you are building

A short Microsoft Forms intake.
A SharePoint list named "Matters", one row per inquiry.
A flow that creates the row and sets the conflict check flag.
A task or message for the assigned attorney.
A view that shows rows where the conflict check is still needed.

For the basic form-to-list flow, see "Save Microsoft Forms answers to a SharePoint list". This guide does not repeat those steps. It adds the matter list design and the flag.

What the form should and should not collect

Keep the form short. A short form means less data to protect.

Collect only these:

Contact name.
A way to reach the person, such as a preferred contact method.
Matter type, from a fixed list of choices.
Date the inquiry came in.
A conflict check flag. The form does not decide this. The intake person sets it.

Do not collect confidential case facts. Ask your firm's counsel whether the form needs a short notice line at the top saying that sending the form does not make anyone a client. Do not add a box that says "describe your situation". People will type private details into it, and then those details sit in a shared list. If someone needs to explain the matter, do that on a call or in whatever system your firm already uses for that purpose. Ask your ethics counsel what belongs where.

Field list for the Matters list

Copy these columns into the list in Step 1.

Title: single line of text. Example: Contact 12, Type A.
Contact: single line of text. Example: the person's name.
Contact method: Choice. Example: 1 Email.
Matter type: Choice. Example: 1 Type A.
Received: Date, date only. Example: the day the inquiry arrived.
Conflict check: Choice, default 1 Needed.
Assigned attorney: Person.

Step 1. Create the Matters list

Microsoft's page on creating a column shows how to add columns.

Create a new list named "Matters".
Use the Title column for a short label such as the contact's name and matter type. You can rename it.
Add these columns:
- Contact: single line of text.
- Contact method: a Choice column with numbered choices so they stay in your order: 1 Email, 2 Phone, 3 Either.
- Matter type: a Choice column. Use your own types, with number prefixes, for example 1 Type A, 2 Type B, 3 Other.
- Received: a Date column.
- Conflict check: a Choice column with these choices: 1 Needed, 2 Cleared. Set the default to 1 Needed.
- Assigned attorney: a Person column.

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: start each choice with a number, so 1 Email sits above 2 Phone wherever the list shows them.

Why "Needed" is the default: a new inquiry starts as not yet checked. Someone must change it on purpose. Whether a check is required, and what a check means, is for your firm to decide.

Step 2. Build the intake form

Create a form in Microsoft Forms with these questions. Microsoft's page on creating a form says to select "Add new" and choose a question type such as Choice, Text, Rating or Date.

Name (text).
Preferred contact method (choice). Use the exact words from the list: 1 Email, 2 Phone, 3 Either.
Matter type (choice). Use the exact same words as the Matter type choices in the list.

Why the words must match: your views and filters look for the exact choice words. A different spelling can put a value in the list that no view or filter finds. Test one response.

You do not need a date question. The flow can use the date the response came in. Do not add the conflict check flag to the form. The flow sets it to 1 Needed.

Step 3. Build the flow

Microsoft's Forms connector page lists the trigger "When a new response is submitted" and the action "Get response details". It says the connector works only with organizational accounts, and that it allows 300 calls per connection in 60 seconds. A small firm will not get near that.

Trigger: "When a new response is submitted". Pick your intake form.
Action: "Get response details". Use the Response Id from the trigger.
Action: SharePoint "Create item" on the Matters list. Map the fields:
- Title: the name answer plus the matter type answer.
- Contact: the name answer.
- Contact method: the contact method answer.
- Matter type: the matter type answer.
- Received: the expression utcNow().
- Conflict check: 1 Needed.
Save the flow and submit one test response.

The Assigned attorney column can stay blank at this point. The next step covers it.

Step 4. Tell the assigned attorney

One way to start is to have the intake person pick the attorney in the Matters list after the row appears. Then a second flow runs when an item is modified and sends the attorney a message.

If that second flow also changes the same item, it needs a loop guard, or it can trigger itself. See "A Power Automate flow that triggers itself".

Another way is a simple rule. All new inquiries go to one shared mailbox or one person, who assigns each one. This keeps the form short.

If you want a task, the guide "Create a Planner task automatically from a Forms response" shows the pattern. Use it for the task part and do not copy case facts into the task text. Put only the row title and a link to the list item.

Step 5. Build the "needs conflict check" view

Create a view of the Matters list named "Conflict check needed".

Filter: Conflict check equals 1 Needed.
Sort by Received, oldest first.
Show only the columns the intake person needs.

Exact names may differ on your screen.

Step 6. Decide who can open the list

Microsoft's page on sharing and permissions says: "Giving people permissions to a site, group, or team gives them access to all site content." It says team site permissions "are best managed through the associated Microsoft 365 group or Teams team," and that "External sharing is turned on by default for your organization." For confidential information, it recommends "storing the information in a site that has external sharing turned off."

What that means for you: a client intake list can show names and contact details to everyone who has the site. Do not put it on a broad company site. One way to start is a separate site with a small, named group of people. Then have your IT team or security lead check it. See also "Keep one column private (like pay or notes) in a shared list" for why hiding a column in a view is not the same as protecting it.

Again, permissions in SharePoint do not replace your firm's own security review.

Step 7. If your flow reads the list

Sometimes a second flow needs to read the Matters list, for example to count rows that still need a check. The Get items action returns 100 items by default. Microsoft's page on Get items says you raise this with Top Count, up to the 5,000 view threshold. Also turn on Pagination in the action settings.

Open Advanced options on the Get items action.
Set Top Count to a number above what you expect.
In the action settings, turn on Pagination.
Use a Filter Query such as Conflict_x0020_check eq '1 Needed'. Microsoft's page says spaces in a column name become _x0020_, so use the internal name of your column. If your column has no spaces, use the plain name.

Test the filter with one row before you rely on it.

What to avoid

Do not collect confidential case facts in the form or the list.
Do not add a free text "tell us about your matter" box.
Do not treat SharePoint permissions as a replacement for your firm's security review.
Do not leave the intake list on a site that a wide group can open.
Do not leave Get items on its defaults. It returns only 100 rows. Set Top Count and turn on Pagination.
Do not let the form accept free text for the matter type. Use a choice so the words match the list.
Do not leave the flow tied only to the builder's account. Name a second owner, so the flow keeps running if that person leaves.
Do not set the conflict check flag to 2 Cleared by default. Start at 1 Needed.

Honest limits

This setup moves a few fields into a list and flags rows. It does not run a conflict check. It does not tell you whether a check is required or what it should cover. It does not keep an audit record that meets any rule. The flow copies new responses only. If someone edits a form answer later, the list does not change. And the person who sets 2 Cleared is trusted to do the check; the list cannot prove it happened. This guide is not legal or compliance advice. Follow your firm's own policies and your jurisdiction's rules, and ask your ethics counsel.

When to get help

You can build all of this yourself in Microsoft 365. If you would rather have it built and tested for your team, I do that. A tracker like this is a fixed price: $5,000 for one, built in 2 weeks. See "What a SharePoint tracker costs to build". Bring one example of the problem to a free call.

Tell me what's still manual

I am Al Davies. I run 250 High Street LLC and build SharePoint trackers and Power Automate flows for operations teams. I work remotely. The first call is free, and I will not try to sell you anything.

See trackers I built: Tools I built

FAQ

What fields should a law firm client intake form have?

This guide uses contact name, contact method, matter type and the date received, with a conflict check flag that the intake person sets. Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: leave out case facts.

Why leave case facts out of the form?

A form that asks for them puts private details into a shared list. Collect contact details, a matter type and a date, and take the rest through the channel your firm already uses for that. Ask your ethics counsel what is right for you.

Does the conflict check flag run a check?

No. It is a marker. It starts at 1 Needed and a person changes it to 2 Cleared after doing the check your firm requires.

Can people outside my firm fill in the form?

Microsoft's Forms settings page lists "Anyone can respond", where anyone inside or outside your organization can submit. Microsoft's connector page says the Forms connector works only with organizational accounts, so check the flow with your admin before you share the link.

Is this guide legal or compliance advice?

No. It shows how to move simple fields from a form to a list. Follow your firm's policies and your jurisdiction's rules, and ask your ethics counsel.