A simple phenomenological model for the electric dipole intensities of
nf --> nf transitions is proposed. The model is derived by adopting o
f the common angular overlap model to the generalized Judd-Ofelt theor
y of the static coupling mechanism. It leads to reduction of a number
of the effective intensity parameters to six, three of which correspon
d to the f --> d excitations and the remaining to the f --> g ones. Ca
lculations performed for some lanthanide complexes show that the model
, despite its inborn crudeness, provides satisfactory results and may
be a convenient tool for a preliminary estimation of intensities. Regu
larity of the obtained parameters indicates a possibility of further r
eduction of their number.