A Lawmatics AI receptionist integration needs to put each intake answer on the right record and leave the matter at the right step. TeleWizard integrates with Lawmatics for configured intake and follow-up workflows. This worksheet focuses on the decisions that make the handoff useful: contact versus matter fields, returning callers, pipeline stages, and proof that the next action happened.
Use this as a configuration and acceptance worksheet with your implementation team. The examples describe proposed outcomes to validate in your account; they do not imply that every native Lawmatics feature is enabled through every connection.
Separate Contacts, Matters, and Pipeline Stages
In Lawmatics, a contact represents a person and a matter represents a case or potential case. A contact can be associated with multiple matters. A referral partner may remain a contact without a matter, while a prospective client belongs in a matter record so the inquiry can move through the intake pipeline. Lawmatics explains these distinctions in its Contacts vs. Matters guide.
That difference changes a phone-intake design. A returning caller with a new inquiry may need the existing contact associated with a new matter. A caller checking an existing inquiry may need the existing matter updated. Creating a fresh contact every time makes both situations harder to follow.
Keep matter status and pipeline stage separate in the map. Lawmatics describes potential new clients with the PNC status, with conversion to Hired when they become clients. A stage tracks a step within the process. A consultation booking should move the inquiry only to the firm-approved stage; it should not imply that the firm has accepted representation. See Creating Matters and the Pipeline Overview.
Start with one example: a former client calls about a different issue. Write down the expected contact, new matter, source, owner, status, stage, and next step. Then demonstrate that exact path before adding more caller types.
Build the Field-Mapping Worksheet
Inventory your standard fields before creating custom fields. Lawmatics distinguishes custom-field contexts such as Matter, Contact, Company, and Practice Area. Use contact fields for person-level facts and the appropriate matter context for facts about the inquiry. Its Custom Fields Overview also recommends using an existing standard field when one already serves the purpose.
For every proposed write, record the exact destination and field identifier, accepted format, allowed values, required status, matching rule, overwrite rule, failure owner, and a sample expected result. The table below provides the decisions to resolve; your account’s configured fields supply the final names.
| Caller information | Destination to evaluate | Validation | Update rule | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name, phone, email, contact preference | Contact identity and communication fields | Confirm spelling and preferred number; normalize approved formats | Review uncertain matches; protect verified values | Contact identifier and final stored values |
| Reason for the new inquiry | Matter description and configured practice-area value | Retain the caller’s meaning; use approved categories | Do not replace the description of an unrelated matter | Correct matter associated with the correct contact |
| Referral or campaign | Source fields selected by the firm | Use controlled values and preserve known attribution | A phone call alone should not erase the originating source | Source visible in the intended intake report |
| Practice-specific answers | Approved matter or practice-area custom fields | Check dates, choices, missing values, and uncertainty | Write only fields approved for this intake stage | Stored values plus unresolved questions for review |
| Progress through intake | Configured pipeline stage and matter status | Specify each independently | Advance only after the required event is confirmed | Expected stage, status, and downstream behavior |
| Appointment or staff follow-up | Chosen scheduler and configured Lawmatics handoff | Confirm type, time zone, owner, and next step | Prevent duplicate bookings and repeated follow-up | Appointment or task acknowledgment and assigned owner |
If a Lawmatics form is part of the configured path, check its type as well as its fields. Matter forms can include contact and matter fields; contact forms are limited to contact fields. Lawmatics documents these native form distinctions in Custom Form Type: Matter vs. Contact. A voice integration still needs its own test of how the chosen action creates or updates those records.
Choose the Right Record for Each Caller
Not every call is a new prospect. Agree on caller paths before deciding which records an action may create or change.
| Caller path | Conversation goal | Proposed outcome to validate | Human boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| New prospective client | Collect the firm’s approved minimum intake | Correct contact and matter context, source, intake stage, and owner | Staff retain conflicts, acceptance, and representation decisions |
| Returning person with a new issue | Identify the relationship and collect the new inquiry | Existing contact association plus the approved new-matter or review path | Uncertain identity or matter selection goes to review |
| Caller following up on an existing inquiry | Confirm purpose and capture permitted updates | Update or route against the correct existing matter | Do not reopen or replace unrelated records automatically |
| Existing client | Follow verification and client-service rules | Configured note, callback, task, or staff handoff | No sensitive disclosure beyond the caller’s verified authority |
| Referral partner, court, counsel, or vendor | Capture purpose and the intended recipient | Approved contact or routing outcome without a false new-prospect entry | Legal communications and sensitive questions go to authorized staff |
Test Returning Callers and Repeated Requests
Lawmatics documents email-based contact matching, including the Match Contacts by Email firm setting in its form guidance. Treat that as a behavior to inspect in the chosen path. It does not resolve every shared email, changed address, similar name, or multiple-matter situation.
Use test contacts with no prior inquiry, one open inquiry, multiple matters, a changed phone number, and a shared family email. For each, decide whether the system should associate an existing record, create an approved new record, or ask staff to review. Never let a confident-sounding conversation conceal an uncertain record match.
Also repeat a request after a simulated timeout. The first attempt may have reached the destination even if confirmation was lost. The recovery process should check for prior success before creating another record, booking, or task. Define how the implementation recognizes a repeated interaction and which exceptions require a person.
Confirm Booking in the Chosen Scheduler
Choose the system that owns the appointment before mapping a booking result into Lawmatics. TeleWizard also integrates with Clio and Acuity Scheduling. A firm using Acuity Scheduling should scope its appointment action there and separately define any Lawmatics follow-up. Do not infer an automatic Lawmatics-to-Acuity synchronization from the fact that TeleWizard supports both products.
Write the expected appointment type, staff member or team, date, time zone, location, fee instructions, confirmation, and cancellation or rescheduling behavior. Then verify the actual destination record. A consultation request, a link sent to the caller, and a confirmed appointment are different outcomes and need different caller wording.
Test a full calendar, an ineligible appointment type, a time-zone change, a cancellation, and a rejected booking. The fallback should keep the completed intake available and assign the next step. A stage labelled for a scheduled consultation should require booking evidence, not merely an attempted calendar action.
Test the Pipeline and Follow-Up Together
A correct field value can still trigger the wrong follow-up. Lawmatics automations can use entry conditions such as form submission, matched field values, and booked appointments. Review the firm’s active triggers before enabling an intake write. See Automation Entry Conditions/Triggers.
For the chosen caller path, list the field changes, the automation that should run, the messages or tasks it should produce, and the conditions that should stop it. For example, a booked consultation should not leave the person receiving a sequence that asks them to book the same consultation. This is a test requirement to implement with the firm’s actual rules, not a claim about a default workflow.
If the firm uses Lawmatics appointment-based automations, confirm their target type, appointment type, eligible matter status, and timing. Lawmatics documents these settings in Appointment Based Automations. Inspect both the appointment and the resulting reminder or task during testing.
Record Evidence for Each Acceptance Test
Run these checks with test records and controlled recipients. Record the configuration version, expected outcome, actual result, supporting identifiers, and any correction needed. An action log alone does not prove that staff received a usable result.
| Scenario | Pass criteria | Evidence | Exception owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| New inquiry | Approved contact and matter data appear with the correct source, owner, status, and stage | Record identifiers, field sample, and pipeline view | Intake owner |
| Existing person, different issue | New context is associated correctly without changing an unrelated matter | Contact association and both matter records | Data owner |
| Unknown or corrected answer | No guessed value; the final approved correction is retained | Field value and review item where required | Practice-area owner |
| Confirmed consultation | Destination appointment exists; stage and confirmation match the actual result | Appointment identifier, time zone, and follow-up record | Scheduling owner |
| No slot or rejected booking | No false confirmation; completed intake and an owned alternative remain available | Caller outcome, exception, and callback owner | Scheduling owner |
| Timeout and retry | Prior success is checked; a repeat does not silently duplicate work | Attempt history and final target record | Integration owner |
| Changed stage or booking | Expected follow-up runs; obsolete reminders or booking requests stop as designed | Automation outcome and controlled test messages | Workflow owner |
| Revoked permission or changed field | Failure is visible and assigned without an unconfirmed success claim | Error state, preserved intake, and recovery outcome | System administrator |
Retest affected paths when fields, stages, permissions, staff, appointment rules, or automations change. Sample real outcomes after launch to find missing fields, wrong matter associations, duplicate work, and unresolved exceptions.
Keep Human Decisions Explicit
The firm should approve the intake questions, permitted writes, verification rules, disclosures, access, and escalation paths. TeleWizard can collect caller-stated facts and follow approved administrative routing criteria. Lawyers and authorized staff retain conflicts, legal advice, deadlines, merits, engagement, and representation decisions.
Keep the initial intake limited to information appropriate for that stage. ABA Model Rule 1.18 and its commentary address prospective-client information and limiting an initial consultation to what is reasonably necessary to decide whether to undertake the matter. These are model materials; the firm must apply its jurisdiction’s rules. See the ABA commentary on Rule 1.18.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does TeleWizard integrate with Lawmatics?
Yes. TeleWizard offers a Lawmatics integration for configured intake and follow-up workflows. The field map, record actions, appointment path, permissions, and recovery rules should be agreed and tested for the firm’s account.
Should every caller become a new Lawmatics matter?
No. A prospective client needs the appropriate matter context, but an existing inquiry may require an update, and a vendor or referral partner may need a contact or routing outcome. The firm should define the record path for each caller type.
What proves that the handoff worked?
The correct contact and matter association, approved field values, expected stage and status, confirmed next action, and an identifiable owner. Check the resulting follow-up as well as the initial write.
Choose the Guide for Your Next Step
For the broader journey and rollout, use the Lawmatics intake automation guide. For Clio configuration, authorization, and booking checks, use the TeleWizard Clio integration guide. Keep this worksheet alongside the Lawmatics record map and acceptance evidence.
Bring your Lawmatics contact and matter fields, pipeline stages, appointment rules, and one returning-caller example to an integration review. Review the TeleWizard Lawmatics integration.
