The problem
In family law the other spouse may already have called the firm, and an attorney who hears one side's story can be barred from taking the other. Staff take names by phone, retype them and search by hand. If a firm gets 30 consultation requests a month and each takes 35 minutes of calls, data entry and searching, that's 17.5 hours a month, and a rushed check can still miss a maiden name.
What the AI does
MyCase Pro includes client intake forms and a legal CRM; MyCase says the forms embed on the firm's website and send leads into the CRM. The form asks only what a conflict check needs: the prospective client's name and other names, the spouse's or other parent's name and other names, and any attorney already involved, with a note not to describe the dispute yet. Staff run MyCase's conflict search on every name, which its help center says covers contacts, cases, leads, messages and documents, and save the result to the lead. Only a cleared lead is offered a consultation. The attorney decides any close call, as the state bar's rules on conflicts and duties to prospective clients (ABA Model Rule 1.18) require.
A worked example
An illustrative example built from typical figures, not a named business.
A two-attorney family law firm in Sacramento, California, gets about 30 consultation requests a month. It moves its intake coordinator and one attorney to MyCase Pro, puts the intake form on its website, and runs a saved conflict search on every name before booking.
Before
35 minutes a request on calls, retyping and searching: 17.5 hours a month
After
About 10 minutes to review the form and run and save the search: 5 hours a month
What it's worth
About $440£331€394A$635C$622 a month of staff time, against $200£150€179A$289C$283 for two Pro seats. Saving 25 minutes on each of 30 requests is 12.5 hours, at an assumed $35£26€31A$51C$49 an hour. Pro is $100£75€89A$144C$141 per user a month billed annually or $120£90€107A$173C$170 monthly; Conflict Check Tracking is listed only on Advanced, $130£98€116A$188C$184 billed annually. The cost of a missed conflict is not counted.
How to set it up
- Build a short intake form that asks for names only: the prospective client, the spouse or other parent, any other names they have used, and any attorney already involved.
- Tell people on the form and on the phone not to describe their situation until conflicts are cleared.
- Run MyCase's conflict search on every name, including maiden and former names, and save the result to the lead.
- Have an attorney review any match before anyone calls the prospective client back, and decline politely without saying why if there is a conflict.
- Offer a consultation only once the saved search is clear.
What goes wrong
- A search only finds names already in MyCase. Contacts kept in old files, email or another system won't show up, so import them or search there too.
- If a caller tells their story before the check, the firm may be conflicted out of the other side. Train staff to stop the caller politely and take names only.
- Pro covers intake forms and the CRM; the pricing page lists Conflict Check Tracking only on Advanced. MyCase is priced per active user.
- Some people use the consultation process to conflict out several firms. Note who has contacted the firm and when, and let the attorney decide under the state's rules.