Client intake for employment law.

Employment matters arrive with a clock and a stack of paper. There is usually a letter, often a contract, sometimes an offer with a signing date printed on it. The person has read all of it and understood some of it. A good intake asks for each document by name and records the dates as the person reads them out, so the lawyer opens the file already knowing whether there is a written termination clause, what was offered, and how long the person has been told they have. The other side is a company, and companies have parent companies, so the conflict check needs more than one name.

• What happened: dismissal, resignation under pressure, a change in role or pay, or something else, in the person's words.
• The date it happened and how it was communicated: in person, by letter, by email.
• Length of service, position, and pay, including bonus and benefits as the person describes them.
• What was offered, if anything: the amount or weeks stated, and the date by which the person was told to respond. Recorded as written, never judged.
• Whether the person has signed anything since.
• Whether the person is in a union or covered by a collective agreement.
• The reason the employer gave, if any.
• Which documents the person holds: the contract, the termination letter, the offer, performance reviews, the record of employment.
• Whether any part of the story involves disability, pregnancy, leave, or a complaint the person made before it happened.
• Whether the person has found new work.

• The employer's full legal name, as it appears on the pay stub or the letter.
• Any parent company, related company or franchise owner the person can name.
• The manager or officer who delivered the news.
• The employer's lawyer or human resources firm, if a letter came from one.
• A staffing agency, if the person was placed through one.
• Any lawyer the person has already consulted.

An offer with a signing date, a grievance or complaint window the person believes applies, a disciplinary meeting already scheduled, or a person who has been told to leave the country because their status was tied to the job. The intake records the date as the person states it and flags it to the lawyer. It never tells the person whether the date is binding, whether it has passed, or whether to sign.

• It never says whether the offer is fair or what the person is entitled to.
• It never calculates notice, severance or damages.
• It never tells the person to sign, not to sign, or to ask for more.
• It never says whether a filing window or limitation period has passed.
• It never tells the person what to say to the employer, or suggests they contact anyone at the company.

The machine takes the statement. The lawyer takes the case.