What to Send a Client at the Start of a Matter
The first documents a client receives set expectations for the whole matter. What to send, in what order, and how to record that the client received and agreed to it.
Most disputes with clients trace back to something that was never written down at the start: what exactly the work covered, how it would be charged, who would do it, how quickly they could expect replies. The opening pack fixes that. It is short, it is sent before substantive work begins, and it is recorded on the matter together with evidence that the client received and accepted it. Professional rules on what must be sent vary by profession and jurisdiction, so check yours; the list below is the practical core.
The opening pack
- Engagement letter or terms of engagement. Who the client is (the person or entity, precisely), what you will do, and just as important, what you will not do. A clear scope is the single best protection against later argument.
- Fees and costs. How you charge, the rates, an estimate or fixed fee where you can give one, what disbursements are likely, when you will invoice and when payment is due. Say what happens if the estimate will be exceeded: you will tell them before it is.
- Who is working on the matter. The responsible person, who else may work on it, and who to contact if that person is unavailable.
- How you will communicate. Preferred channels, typical response times, how documents will be shared, and a warning that you will never change your bank details by email.
- What you need from them. Documents, information and decisions, each with a date. Clients cannot provide what they have not been asked for.
- Privacy information. How you use their personal data and for how long. See writing a privacy notice in plain language.
- How to complain. Who to contact if they are unhappy, and what happens next.
Order matters
Do the conflict check and identity checks first, before you send terms; our conflict-of-interest checks guide covers that. Then send the engagement terms and fees together, and wait for acceptance before substantive work. The request for documents can follow immediately, but should not replace the terms.
Record acceptance properly
An engagement letter nobody signed is weak evidence of what was agreed. Ask for a signature, electronic where acceptable, and keep the signed copy on the matter. If a client accepts by email instead, file that email with the letter it refers to. Record the date of acceptance: it is often the date the engagement formally began.
Make it repeatable
Most of the pack is the same for every client of a given type. Standard documents that pull in the client's name, the matter description, the fee basis and the responsible person remove typing errors and make sure nothing is left out when you are busy. Update the standard wording when your terms change, not letter by letter.
How this works in Herarx
A matter template can carry document designs for the engagement letter and fee estimate, generated from the case's fields and contacts. The letter can be sent for e-signature from the case's Files tab; the signed PDF, with its audit trail, is stored back on the matter. Documents the client needs to see can be shared through a secure link, where they sign in with a one-time email code and see only what the share allows. The information you requested can be tracked as tasks with due dates, and the timeline shows when each item went out and came back. For the intake step before all this, see building an intake form that creates the case.
