Bankruptcy intake: turning calls into retained clients

Ads and search make the phone ring. Intake decides whether the caller becomes a retained client. In bankruptcy the caller is often afraid, sometimes ashamed, and sometimes holding a court paper with a date on it. This guide walks through the call, the consultation, the fee quote, the documents and the numbers to watch. It is a process guide for staff and owners, not legal advice, and your attorney decides what is said about any person’s case. The overview for the whole practice is on bankruptcy marketing.

Key facts

• The debt relief statement covers ads, not calls, but the fee agreement has its own timing: the statute speaks of a written contract not later than 5 business days after the first date on which such agency provides any bankruptcy assistance services. Your intake steps should match what your counsel says.
• A booked consultation is an early signal. A retained client is the count.
• The speed of the first answer usually matters more than the polish of the script.

What does a good bankruptcy call look like?

A good call has five steps, in this order. Each one is short.

1. Greet and slow down. A warm opening, the firm name and the person’s name, said without hurry.
2. Listen for the pressure. Ask what brought them to call, and let them finish. Note any date or paper they mention.
3. Sort, do not advise. Ask the screening questions below and write the answers down.
4. Offer a time. A same-day or next-morning consultation, in person, by phone or by video.
5. Say what happens next. The fee in plain words, what to bring, and a text with the details before the call ends.

Staff do not tell a caller whether to file, which chapter fits, or what will happen to a house, car or paycheck. They say the attorney will go through it in the consultation.

Why same-day consultations matter

A person who reaches a lawyer’s office today sleeps better tonight, and the firm that offers a slot first is often the one that is chosen. Keep a few daily slots open, sorted by urgency. Confirm by text. Send a reminder, and call anyone who does not arrive within minutes of the start time, because a missed consultation is usually fear, not disinterest. Our guide on consultation no-shows in family law uses the same method, and it applies here too.

How do you quote the flat fee?

Many consumer bankruptcy firms sell flat fees for common situations. The quote does the selling when it is clear.

• Say what is included in plain words, such as preparing and filing, attending the required meetings and answering questions.
• Say what is not, such as separate court charges, and what changes the price.
• Say when payments are due and how a payment plan works, if you offer one.
• Never improvise the numbers. Staff use a written fee sheet your attorney approves.
• Match the written agreement. The agreement should say the same thing the caller heard.

Values for reporting come from your own fee history, grouped in a few bands for the matters you take, never from a national average.

What documents should you ask for?

Send the list by text or email within the hour, so the caller has a task and a reason to keep the appointment. Your attorney decides the list. A typical consumer list includes:

• Recent income records, such as pay stubs or benefit letters
• Recent tax returns
• A list of debts with the creditors’ names and any letters or lawsuit papers
• Bank statements
• Deeds, mortgage statements, vehicle titles and loan papers
• A list of monthly household expenses
• Photo identification

Callers who cannot gather everything should still come to the consultation. Say so kindly, because a long list can scare people away.

How do you handle a deadline, like a foreclosure sale or a lawsuit?

Deadlines go to the top of the queue. During the call, ask whether the caller has any court paper, any date, or any notice from a lender, and record the exact wording and the date on the paper. Then:

1. Offer the earliest consultation, today if possible.
2. Tell the attorney before the call ends, with the paper’s date.
3. Ask the caller to photograph the paper and send it right away.
4. Confirm by text and follow up if no photo arrives.

Staff do not say how many days a person has or what a filing would do. Only the attorney does. Pressure situations are also the biggest ones for ads, which is why bankruptcy ads answer them directly. For context, the federal courts explain that Individuals may use a Chapter 13 proceeding to save their home from foreclosure. Whether that fits this caller is for the attorney.

Which questions sort the two common chapters, in plain words?

These questions only sort the matter for the attorney. They do not decide anything. Staff ask them gently and record the answers.

The federal courts describe the two paths briefly. Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code provides for liquidation, the sale of a debtor’s nonexempt property and the distribution of the proceeds to creditors. In Chapter 13, debtors propose a repayment plan to make installments to creditors over three to five years. The attorney explains which one applies, in the consultation.

What about after-hours calls?

Many bankruptcy calls come at night, when worry is loudest. Options, strongest first:

• A live answering service trained on your script that books straight onto the calendar.
• A text-back that goes out within a minute, with a link to book a slot.
• A recorded greeting that is calm and short, gives a callback time and never makes the caller feel judged.

Whichever you choose, call back first thing in the morning, before returning any other call. Test it yourself with the intake secret-shop worksheet.

What should you measure?

• Answer rate and speed, by hour and by source.
• Consultations booked and kept, as an early signal.
• Retained clients, counted when the fee agreement is signed or, if that is your rule, when the first payment clears.
• Lost callers: who did not book, did not show, or did not hire, and the reason noted in your system.
• Source of each retained client, from call tracking, with a self-reported line for calls it missed.

The retained client is the count, in your own records. See what counts as a new client by practice, signed-case reporting and intake monitoring, which grades recorded calls against a checklist. For more on the general process, see our law firm intake guide.

What this means for your firm

• Answer fast, sort gently, and book a same-day slot.
• Keep a written fee sheet, a document list and a deadline script your attorney has approved.
• Count only signed fee agreements as clients, and review lost callers every week.

Start with a free video review of your bankruptcy intake.