Conflict check. Retainer letter. CDD. SRA Transparency Rules pricing. Four compliance obligations before you start the work.
Opening a new matter requires: conflict of interest check (SRA Code of Conduct paragraphs 6.1-6.2), client care letter with costs information (SRA Transparency Rules compliant for applicable matter types), CDD initiation (MLR 2017 for in-scope work), terms of engagement, complaints procedure notification, data protection notice, and file opening checklist. For a conveyancing firm, this also includes source of funds documentation requests, lender handbook compliance, and CQS-compliant onboarding. The SRA Transparency Rules require published pricing for conveyancing, probate, motoring offences, employment tribunal, immigration, debt recovery, and licensing — with specific requirements for what must be disclosed. Your agent streamlines the entire intake: generating costs information from matter type, drafting the client care letter, initiating the CDD workflow, running the conflict check, and opening the file checklist.
What Your Agent Actually Does
Your agent runs the entire new matter intake — conflict check, client care letter, CDD initiation, Transparency Rules pricing — in 10 minutes rather than 45.
Generates SRA Transparency Rules compliant costs information
For applicable matter types (conveyancing, probate, etc.), your agent generates costs information that meets the SRA's specific requirements: total cost or meaningful range, basis of charging, included/excluded services, disbursements, VAT, typical stages, and timescales. Compliant by design, not by afterthought.
Drafts client care letters from matter data
Named fee earner, scope of work, costs information, billing arrangements, complaints procedure (with LeO details and time limits), regulatory information, data protection notice, file storage policy, right to terminate — all populated from the matter and client data. Your fee earner reviews and sends.
Initiates the CDD workflow
For matters within MLR 2017 scope, your agent initiates the CDD process: requesting ID verification, beneficial ownership information, source of funds documentation, and creating the matter risk assessment. Integrates with your existing ID verification platform.
Runs the conflict check
Searches your matter database for all parties associated with the new instruction — client, other parties, connected companies, related individuals. Produces a structured conflict report for the fee earner to review before accepting instructions.
Opens the file with a complete checklist
Every element of compliant file opening documented: conflict check result, client care letter sent, CDD status, costs information provided, key dates diarised, supervisor assigned. Creates the file-opening evidence that Lexcel and CQS assessors expect.
The real numbers.
| Fee earner + secretary time per new matter (30-60 min) | £3,000–£8,000/year |
| SRA Transparency Rules non-compliance risk | Variable (577 warning letters + 35 fixed penalties issued) |
| Incomplete onboarding leading to file review failures | £500–£2,000/year (remediation time) |
| Realistic annual cost | £5,000–£12,000 |
| Agent build (one-off, configured to your practice areas and templates) | £3,000–£5,000 |
| Monthly running costs (hosting + AI usage) | £100–£180/month |
| SRA Transparency Rules and template updates | Included in first year |
| Realistic first-year total | £4,200–£7,160 |
New matter intake is where compliance starts — and where it most often fails. A client care letter missing the complaints procedure, CDD not initiated before work begins, costs information that doesn't meet Transparency Rules requirements — these are the deficiencies that SRA inspections and Lexcel assessors find most often.
Your agent ensures every matter starts compliant, with every required element in place before the first piece of substantive work is done.
Good fit / not a fit.
This works brilliantly for:
- Firms opening 10+ new matters per month
- Firms that have had SRA findings on Transparency Rules compliance
- Practices where onboarding quality varies between fee earners
- Conveyancing firms needing CQS-compliant onboarding processes
This probably isn't for you if:
- You open very few new matters per month (fewer than 5)
- You already have a robust onboarding workflow in your PMS that you're satisfied with
- You have a dedicated intake team handling all new matter administration
Let's talk.
We'll start with your monthly new matter volume, which practice areas you cover, and how you currently handle the intake process. Usually a 15-minute conversation.
hello@nimblecroft.com