Workflow guide
How to send a client intake packet for e-signature
New clients rarely sign just one document. Here’s how to package the engagement agreement, authorizations and intake forms so the client signs everything in one sitting — while each document keeps its own signed record.
General information, not legal advice.
What typically goes in an intake packet
It depends on the practice. A personal-injury intake often looks like this:
- Engagement or contingency-fee agreement — client signs; attorney countersigns. See the engagement-letter checklist.
- Medical-records / HIPAA authorization — client signs; often one per provider.
- Intake questionnaire — facts of the matter, contacts, insurance.
- Communication consent — how the client agrees to be contacted (email, text).
Family law, estate planning and immigration intakes differ in the details, but the pattern is the same: one agreement the attorney also signs, plus several documents only the client signs.
Put them in a sensible order
- The agreement first — it’s the one that matters most if the client stops partway.
- Short documents before long ones, so progress feels quick.
- Anything only the attorney countersigns goes out to the attorney after the client has finished it.
One sitting, separate records
Sending four documents as four emails means four chances to be ignored. Merging them into one PDF solves that but creates a different problem: you can’t send the authorization to a hospital without the fee agreement attached, and one correction means re-signing everything. The better pattern is a packet: the client enters once and moves document to document, and each document is completed and certified on its own.
Enter each person once
If the client appears in all four documents, whoever sends the packet should type the client’s name and email once, not four times. That only works if the signer roles are named consistently across your templates — “Client” everywhere, not “Signer 1” in one and “Client” in another.
Doing this in Tarchos Sign
- Save each document as a template and name the signer roles consistently (“Client”, “Attorney”).
- On the Packets page, combine the templates in the order you want.
- For a new client: choose the packet, enter each person once, send. Each person gets one email.
- The client moves through the documents with “Document 2 of 4 → Continue” and sees “All 4 documents are signed” at the end. The attorney is emailed only for what they countersign, when it’s their turn.
- You see “2 of 4 completed” on the packet, with each document’s own signed PDF and certificate, and one email when the whole packet is done.
Packets are on Starter and above; each document counts toward the plan’s monthly allowance.
Frequently asked questions
- Should the intake packet be one combined PDF or separate documents?
- Separate documents in one signing session is usually better. Each document keeps its own signature record and certificate, you can send a single authorization to a records custodian without the fee agreement attached, and one document needing a correction doesn’t invalidate the rest.
- How many documents is too many?
- Every document adds a reason to stop halfway. Send what you need to open the matter now; later documents (settlement paperwork, additional authorizations) can go out when they’re needed.
- Can medical-records authorizations be signed electronically?
- Providers generally accept electronically signed HIPAA authorizations when the signature meets ESIGN/UETA requirements, but individual providers and records vendors have their own intake rules, and some want one authorization per provider. Check with the providers you request from most. General information, not legal advice.
- Do I need a BAA with my e-signature provider for intake packets?
- It depends on your role and what the documents contain; many law firms are not HIPAA covered entities, but some clients and providers will ask. If your packets carry protected health information and you need a Business Associate Agreement, confirm your provider will sign one before relying on it. Tarchos Sign reviews BAA requests case by case — see the security page.
- What does the client experience look like?
- Ideally: one email listing the documents, one secure link, the documents in order with a clear “2 of 4” progress indicator, and an unmistakable “all done” at the end — no returning to the inbox between documents.
Build your intake packet
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