How to Build Automated Intake Forms Using Microsoft Forms: A Hands-On Guide for Law Firms

Modern legal intake can be fast, compliant, and client-friendly—without expensive software. With Microsoft Forms, Power Automate, SharePoint, Outlook, Teams, Excel, and Word, you can create a secure, automated intake process that captures data, triggers workflows, and generates documents in minutes. This guide shows attorneys and legal operations professionals exactly how to design, build, and launch an automated client intake pipeline using tools your firm already owns.

Table of Contents

• Why Microsoft Forms for Legal Intake
• Plan Your Intake Flow and Data Map
• Build the Intake Form in Microsoft Forms (Step-by-Step)
• Automate the Workflow with Power Automate (Step-by-Step)
• Store and Structure Client Data in SharePoint
• Notifications, Approvals, and Client Communications
• Generate Engagement Letters Automatically with Word Templates
• Track and Report Intake Metrics in Excel and Power BI
• Security, Ethics, and Compliance Considerations
• Testing, Launch, and Continuous Improvement
• Troubleshooting and Pro Tips
• Conclusion

Why Microsoft Forms for Legal Intake

Microsoft Forms is an easy, compliant way to collect structured information from clients and prospects. It integrates natively with Power Automate, SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, and Word, allowing you to transform submissions into matter files, alerts, and documents—no code required. Forms supports required fields, branching logic, email receipts, and validation, helping you gather complete information at the first touchpoint.

Best practice: Use Forms to capture structured data; use SharePoint to store data and documents; use Power Automate to route, notify, and generate documents; and use Teams for visibility. This division of labor keeps your intake system maintainable and auditable.

Plan Your Intake Flow and Data Map

Before building anything, define the fields you need, the workflow steps, and where data will live. This design step prevents rework and ensures compliance with your firm’s data governance policies.

Define your core fields

• Client details: First/Last Name, Company (if applicable), Email, Phone
• Matter details: Practice Area, Matter Description, Jurisdiction, Urgency
• Conflict details: Adverse Parties/Entities, Related Parties
• Consent and disclosures: Intake consent, privacy notice acknowledgment

Map fields to storage and actions

Plan for external respondents and file uploads

Microsoft Forms only allows file upload questions when respondents sign in with your organization account. For prospective clients, you’ll typically use “Anyone can respond,” which disables direct file upload. Use one of the approaches below:

Build the Intake Form in Microsoft Forms (Step-by-Step)

This tutorial creates a professional intake form suitable for external respondents, with branching and validation.

1. Open forms.office.com and select New Form. Name it “Client Intake and Conflicts Check.” Add a brief description with a privacy note.
2. Add Section: Contact Information.
   • Add Text question: “Full Name” (Required).
   • Add Text question: “Email” (Required). Under the three-dot menu, set Restrictions to “Email.”
   • Add Text question: “Phone” (Optional or Required). Set restriction to “Number” if desired.
   • Add Text question: “Company/Organization” (Optional), if you serve corporate clients.
3. Add Section: Matter Details.
   • Add Choice question: “Practice Area” (Required). Options: Family Law, Estate Planning, Employment, Corporate, Litigation, Other.
   • Add Text (Long Answer): “Brief description of your matter” (Required).
   • Add Choice: “Urgency” with Low/Medium/High.
   • Add Choice: “Preferred contact method” with Email/Phone.
4. Add Section: Conflict Check.
   • Add Text (Long Answer): “List adverse or related parties (if known).”
   • Add Choice: “Have you consulted with our firm before?” Yes/No.
5. Add Section: Consent.
   • Add Choice: “I understand this form does not create an attorney–client relationship” with an option “I agree.” Set to Required and Single answer.
   • Turn on Allow receipt of responses so respondents can receive a confirmation if they provide an email.
6. Enable Branching (top right menu). For “Practice Area,” branch to show any area-specific follow-up questions (e.g., “Type of entity” for corporate; “Opposing employer” for employment).
7. Click Collect responses and set Anyone can respond. Turn on One response per person only if you will identify respondents; otherwise leave off.
8. Under Settings, enable Start date, End date, and Captcha to reduce spam.
9. Brand the form with your firm’s logo and a professional theme, then click Preview to test both computer and mobile layouts.
10. Click Share and copy the link for your website, email signature, or QR code for office signage.

Intake Form  →  Power Automate Flow  →  SharePoint List + Matter Folder
                    │                            │
                    ├─ Outlook Alerts            ├─ Word Template (Engagement)
                    │                            │
                    └─ Teams Post (Channel)  ← Approval (Partner/Intake Lead)
  

Automate the Workflow with Power Automate (Step-by-Step)

With the form ready, build an automated flow that captures data, creates a matter record, generates a folder, posts to Teams, and prepares an engagement letter.

1. Go to make.powerautomate.com and select Create > Automated cloud flow. Name it “Intake – Create Matter and Notify.” Choose trigger: When a new response is submitted (Microsoft Forms). Select your intake form.
2. Add action Get response details (Microsoft Forms) and choose the same Form ID.
3. Add action Initialize variable:
   • Name: MatterID; Type: String; Value: a unique pattern such as 2025-{{8-char GUID}}. In Power Automate, use an expression like concat(formatDateTime(utcNow(),’yyyyMMdd’), ‘-‘, substring(guid(),0,8)).
4. Create item (SharePoint) in a list called “Intake Submissions.”
   • Site Address: your Intake site
   • Title: dynamic “Client Full Name”
   • ClientName, Email, PracticeArea, MatterDescription, AdverseParties, MatterID, Status = “New”
5. Create new folder (SharePoint) in “Matters” document library with Folder Path = root and Folder Name = “@{variables(‘MatterID’)} – @{ClientName}”.
6. Populate a Microsoft Word template (Word Online (Business)):
   • Template file: Engagement Letter Template.dotx stored in a “Templates” library.
   • Fill content controls: ClientName, MatterID, PracticeArea, Date, AttorneyName (can default to intake coordinator).
7. Create file (SharePoint) to save the populated letter into the new matter folder as “Engagement Letter – @{ClientName}.docx”.
8. (Optional) Convert file to PDF (OneDrive for Business or SharePoint connector) and save “Engagement Letter – @{ClientName}.pdf”.
9. Start and wait for an approval (Approvals):
   • Approval type: Approve/Reject – First to respond
   • Assigned to: intake partner or practice area lead
   • Details: include ClientName, PracticeArea, MatterDescription, link to SharePoint item and folder
10. Add a Condition: If Outcome is Approve:
    • Yes branch:
      • Update item (SharePoint) Status = “Approved.”
      • Send an email (Outlook) to client: “Thank you—please review the attached engagement letter.” Attach the PDF or provide a secure link.
      • Post message in a Teams channel (Teams connector) summarizing the new matter with a link to the folder.
    • No branch:
      • Update item Status = “Declined.”
      • Send email to intake coordinator with reason; optionally send client a courteous decline note.
11. (Optional) Add a row into a table (Excel Online (Business)) in an “Intake KPI.xlsx” file to log metrics: Date, PracticeArea, Source, Approval Outcome, MatterID.
12. Save and Test your flow by submitting a sample form response.

Governance tip: Use descriptive naming for flows, lists, and libraries (e.g., “Intake – Create Matter and Notify”) and add owners. Enable solution packaging in Power Automate to promote changes from a sandbox to production.

Store and Structure Client Data in SharePoint

SharePoint is your system of record for intake artifacts. Keep lists for structured data and libraries for documents. Use metadata to make retrieval and reporting effortless.

Recommended SharePoint structure

• Site: “Legal Intake and Onboarding” (private)
• List: “Intake Submissions” with columns mapped to your form fields
• List: “Conflicts Register” (optional) for adverse party tracking
• Document Library: “Matters” with metadata:
  • MatterID (Text, Required)
  • ClientName (Text)
  • PracticeArea (Choice)
  • Status (Choice: New, Approved, Declined, Pending Engagement)
• Library: “Templates” for Word templates

Set library default content types (e.g., Engagement Letter) if you want standardized document types. Use unique permissions sparingly—prefer group-based access per practice area or matter stage.

Notifications, Approvals, and Client Communications

Consistent communication helps intake run smoothly and creates a professional client experience.

• Outlook: Send confirmation to the client and a summary to the intake inbox. Use mail tips like sensitivity labels (e.g., “Confidential”).
• Teams: Post to a dedicated “Intake” channel with key details, links to the matter folder, and approver status.
• Approvals: Route engagement letters to the relevant partner. Capture approval comments in the SharePoint item for audit.
• Follow-up: If you need documents from the client, include a secure link to a OneDrive/SharePoint “Request files” folder or provide instructions for a client portal.

Generate Engagement Letters Automatically with Word Templates

Automating engagement letters saves time and reduces errors.

Prepare the template

1. Open Word and draft your engagement letter with placeholders for ClientName, MatterID, PracticeArea, EffectiveDate, and FeeStructure.
2. Insert plain text content controls for each placeholder (Developer tab > Controls). Set unique tags (e.g., “ClientName”).
3. Save the file to SharePoint “Templates” library as a .docx or .dotx.

Map in Power Automate

In the “Populate a Microsoft Word template” action, the content controls appear as fields. Map them to dynamic content from the Form/SharePoint item. Then create the file in the matter folder and optionally convert to PDF. From there, you can:

• Send for internal approval
• Email to client with secure link to view/download
• Track signature via your eSignature provider (if integrated)

Track and Report Intake Metrics in Excel and Power BI

Capture a few key metrics to manage marketing and capacity.

• Create an “Intake KPI.xlsx” with a table “KPI” (Date, PracticeArea, Source, Outcome, TimeToDecision, MatterID). Append a row from your flow.
• Build a pivot table that shows matters by PracticeArea and Approval Outcome. Add a chart for monthly trends.
• (Optional) Use Power BI to connect to your SharePoint lists for richer dashboards—e.g., conversion rate by source and turnaround time by attorney.

Security, Ethics, and Compliance Considerations

• Data minimization: Ask only for information needed for triage and conflicts checks. Move sensitive uploads to secure portals.
• Access control: Restrict the Intake site to the intake team and partners. Audit access via Microsoft 365 audit logs.
• Retention and labeling: Apply Microsoft Purview retention labels to the Intake list and “Matters” library. Use sensitivity labels for confidential documents.
• External sharing: Use expiring links and “Request files” where appropriate. Avoid sending PII as attachments; prefer secure links.
• Jurisdictional rules: Ensure disclosures clarify no attorney–client relationship is formed by submission. Log consent.

Compliance note: File upload in Microsoft Forms is only available for users signed in to your tenant. For prospective clients, use “Anyone can respond” and shift document exchange to SharePoint/OneDrive secure links or a client portal.

Testing, Launch, and Continuous Improvement

Pre-launch checklist

• Form: All required fields validated; branching works across practice areas
• Flow: Test each path (Approved/Declined); items and folders created correctly
• Permissions: Intake site and libraries restricted; Teams channel membership set
• Templates: Word content controls named and mapped; documents render correctly
• Communications: Email language approved; links tested (internal and external)
• Retention: Labels applied; DLP policies reviewed if applicable

Launch steps

1. Publish the form link on your website’s “Contact” or “New Clients” page.
2. Add the link to email signatures and Google Business Profile.
3. Enable Teams channel notifications for intake stakeholders.
4. Train staff on exception handling (e.g., walk-ins, phone intakes) and how to enter data manually via the SharePoint list if needed.

Iterate and optimize

• Review weekly: incomplete submissions, average time to approval, practice area volume.
• Improve form design: add clarifying help text for frequently misunderstood questions.
• Refine routing: add conditions to send employment matters to HR law channel and corporate matters to corporate channel.
• Automate more: create a follow-up reminder if no decision within 48 hours.

Troubleshooting and Pro Tips

Common issues

• “Response not found” in flow: Ensure the Get response details action uses the same Form ID as the trigger. If the form was duplicated, update references.
• Word template fields missing: Use plain text content controls with unique tags; re-upload the template and refresh the Power Automate action.
• File uploads unavailable: Expected with “Anyone can respond.” Use secure SharePoint/OneDrive links instead.
• Folder creation errors: Avoid special characters in folder names; sanitize client names or use MatterID only.
• Duplicate items: Check that you do not have multiple flows bound to the same form, or add idempotency checks (e.g., look up MatterID before creating).

Pro tips

• Conflict checks: In your flow, add or update a “Conflicts Register” item and trigger a separate conflict-review process.
• Adaptive cards in Teams: Use “Post adaptive card and wait for a response” to capture partner approval directly in Teams.
• Environment separation: Build and test in a sandbox environment; export as a solution to production.
• Service accounts: Run critical flows under a service account to prevent outages when users leave.
• Audit trail: Write flow run IDs and approval outcomes back to the SharePoint item for defensibility.

Conclusion

By combining Microsoft Forms, Power Automate, SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, Excel, and Word, law firms can deliver an intake process that is fast for clients, efficient for staff, and auditable for compliance. Start with a well-planned field map, build a simple flow, and iterate as your team gives feedback. Within days, you can replace manual emails and spreadsheets with a modern, automated intake pipeline that scales with your practice.

Want expert guidance on bringing Microsoft 365 automation into your firm’s legal workflows? Reach out to A.I. Solutions today for tailored support and training.