We design the layer that runs before your intake team answers a call. The rules, boundaries, and decision logic that govern how your firm operates, consistently, regardless of volume, staff changes, or case complexity.
"The coordinator stopped calling me for decisions she used to escalate six times a day."
THE RESULT OF A DESIGNED PRE-INTAKE SYSTEM
Consistent, documented, and transferable. Independent of any individual on your team and built specifically for the operational realities of family law practice.
Every engagement begins with a conversation about your firm's specific situation. No scope is quoted before that conversation happens.
The client who calls every week for updates. The retainer replenishment that triggers a dispute. The engagement that ends early. The review that questions the attorney's commitment.
None of these situations start where they appear. They trace back to intake, specifically to the absence of a structured operational layer governing what happens before intake begins.
When client education is improvised, when retainer expectations are communicated informally, when qualification decisions are made in real time without documented criteria, the consequences surface weeks later in ways most attorneys never connect to day one.
The distinction matters more than most firms realize.
If any of these patterns exist in your practice, an inquiry costs nothing and a conversation reveals a great deal.
With over 28 years of experience in operations, office management, and accounting across professional services, including direct exposure to the billing and intake operations of a family law practice, The Intake Advisory was built around a specific operational insight that no textbook provided.
"The billing friction I witnessed was not a billing problem. It was created at intake, on the day nobody properly walked the client through what they were agreeing to."
That firsthand experience, managing billing cycles, trust accounting, retainer replenishment, and client communications inside a family law environment, is the foundation of every engagement we take on.
The Intake Advisory is an independent operational consultancy. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice, legal strategy, or attorney services. Our work addresses exclusively the operational systems that run alongside legal practice.
The decision to work exclusively with family law practices was deliberate. Family law carries a specific set of intake variables that general operational frameworks do not account for, and that we are positioned to design around with precision.
PROFESSIONAL DISCLAIMERThe Intake Advisory is an independent operational consultancy. Arleane Argueta is not an attorney and The Intake Advisory is not a law firm. Nothing communicated through this website, in consultations, or in deliverables constitutes legal advice, legal strategy, or attorney-client communication. All work is operational in nature and does not replace the judgment or guidance of a licensed attorney.
We do not quote scope, deliverables, or investment before understanding your firm's specific situation. Every engagement begins with an assessment of fit, conducted before any scope is discussed.
Every engagement is scoped to your firm's specific circumstances, not pulled from a published list. Investment, timeline, and deliverables are discussed after we understand your situation.
All engagements are flat-fee and project-based. No retainer. No ongoing commitment unless you choose one.
This form is reviewed personally by Arleane Argueta within one business day. We do not accept every inquiry, and all information is held in strict confidence. There is no automated response on the other end. If your firm is a fit, you will hear from us directly.