Rules-Based Intake Qualifier
Unqualified enquiries eat your morning while good leads wait behind them. This workflow scores every intake submission against your own practice areas and keywords, replies appropriately, and alerts you only when one is hot. Free n8n workflow, yours to keep.
Import it into n8n
- The button above downloads the workflow as a .json file — that is the whole download.
- In n8n, open the workflows list, choose Import from File, and select the file you just downloaded.
- Open each node flagged with a warning and connect your own credentials — none of ours are in the file.
- Run it once manually before you activate it, and check the output is what you expect.
How it works
- Receives an intake form submission via a webhook.
- Normalizes the submitted fields and scores the lead by matching the practice area against your configured list and scanning the description for urgent and disqualifying keywords.
- Appends the lead details, fit score, routing tier, and timestamp to a Google Sheets “Intake Log” worksheet.
- Builds a tier-appropriate auto-reply, runs it through a separate compliance guardrail workflow, and sends the email only when it is approved.
- If the lead is scored as hot, builds an internal alert email, runs it through the compliance/audit workflow for logging, and emails the intake attorney.
- On a weekly schedule, reads the intake log from Google Sheets, computes summary statistics for the lookback window, and emails the weekly intake quality summary to stakeholders.
Compliance: never touches your legal work
This automation only handles operational steps — sending, routing, and moving data. It doesn’t draft, analyze, or make any legal judgment, consistent with ABA Opinion 512.
What’s inside
- The intake qualifier workflowImport one JSON file. A form submission gets scored and routed on arrival.
- Scoring on your own rulesYour practice areas, your urgent keywords, your disqualifiers. No model deciding what counts as a good case.
- Tiered replies and a hot-lead alertEveryone gets an appropriate acknowledgement. You only get pinged for the ones worth dropping something for.
- 20-minute deploy guide + LoomConnect your form, your sheet, and your email. No developer needed.
✓ Works great when
- You get more enquiries than you can triage by hand
- A clear share of them are outside what you do
- You want every enquiry acknowledged the same day
✗ What breaks at scale
- You want a conversation, not a form
- Routing needs to reach the right attorney by practice area
- You want a conflict check running before the reply goes out
Frequently asked
What do I need to run this?
An n8n instance, a form that can post to a webhook, a Google Sheets connection, and an email account. About twenty minutes.
Does it tell people they do not have a case?
No. It routes on fit with your practice, not on the merits. A low tier gets a polite acknowledgement, never an assessment. Telling someone whether they have a case is legal advice and this does not go there.
Does it decline leads automatically?
No. Every enquiry is logged and every enquiry gets a reply. Scoring changes what the reply says and whether you are alerted, not whether the person is turned away.
Can I change the scoring?
Yes, and you should. The practice areas, urgent keywords, and disqualifiers are all configuration. The defaults are a starting point, not a recommendation.
What is the upgrade here?
LegalContext. Conversational intake, conflict checking, and attorney routing are native to it rather than bolted on.
Want the version built for your firm?
Done-for-You Build.
The free workflow scores the form and routes it. When you want conflict checks before the reply and routing by attorney, that is a Quick-Win Build. Firms that want a real conversation at intake move to LegalContext.
What you get
- Conversational intake instead of a static form
- Conflict check running before any reply goes out
- Routing to the right attorney by practice area
- Scoring tuned against leads that actually signed
