Documents and deadlines
The document list follows the type of retainer, chasing stops once a document arrives, and both owner and deadline stay visible. This is the part of the work that wears assistants down.
Clio
A pending matter is not an accepted client. The request is written into Zenvox; in Clio the app is declared per region, and cancelling stays with the firm.
7 days, 20 answered calls, no card
Where your intake request lands
The request is written into Zenvox: the parties named, a limited subject, the deadline stated, and an explicit note that no retainer is accepted. Clio keeps the truth of the matter, its stage and billing. The conflict check stays with the firm: a request passed on is a request, not an accepted client, and cancelling a matter does not happen from Zenvox.
Access runs through an authorised application with named scopes, declared per region, with a separate account per operating region: it is an authorisation you install, not a key you create. Commercial terms remain to be confirmed. Outbound events exist, but a full history of stage changes is absent from the current response: if you want a clean audit trail, it has to be kept separately.
Clio is legal practice management software; your account region is structural data there, and an opposing party who calls receives nothing — a priority message, and that is all.
Read, create, update, cancel
The status below comes from vendor documentation and from what stays open: account region, granted scopes and untested operations.
| Action | Status | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Read | To qualify | Matter statuses, filters, current stage and user rights are documented. Finding a matter to answer a status request is the most useful route, and it depends on account region and granted scopes. |
| Create | To qualify | Creating a contact, a task or a document depends on the endpoint concerned and has to be verified one by one. A pending matter is not an accepted client: the receptionist files a request, she does not open a retainer. |
| Update | To qualify | Changing a matter stage commits the firm. Outbound events exist, but with no full stage-change history, attributing a change needs a log kept separately — a condition to meet before writing anything. |
| Cancel | Zenvox native mode | Withdrawing a request, declining a retainer or closing a matter are professional decisions. They do not get automated: the receptionist records the cancellation, stops what follows, and lets the lawyer decide. |
What is included, what needs an add-on
Answering, screening, taking a bounded pre-intake, stating that nothing is accepted and handing you everything with the transcript belong to your professional services base. A connection removes re-keying. Document collection with its deadlines and supervised file preparation are named add-ons.
The authorisation, and what holds the truth
In a law firm, technical authorisation is the smallest of the subjects. The points below are the ones protecting the retainer.
- The application is authorised from your account, in its region, with named scopes; Zenvox asks for no password
- Conflict checking belongs to the firm: no acceptance is inferred from a form or a phone call
- The caller is told their request is received and not accepted, in wording you approved
- An opposing party or opposing counsel receives nothing: a priority message goes to the firm
- You withdraw the authorisation whenever you want; service carries on in Zenvox native mode
An inbound call late on a Friday. The firm is in a meeting. Nothing is written into the software.
CallerHi, I received a formal notice and I need to speak with a lawyer quickly.
ReceptionistLet me take your full name and a callback number. Does the document state a response deadline?
ReceptionistI am noting that date. Keep the details for the lawyer: I am passing your request along, and the firm first checks whether it can represent you. Until they confirm it to you, no retainer is accepted.
The firm receives the parties, the nature of the request, the stated deadline and the time of the call, with no sensitive account recorded needlessly. The caller knows where things stand. Conflict checking happens at the firm, as it must.
When the connection is not there
The firm keeps its software as the single truth, and the receptionist works in Zenvox native mode.
- The request is created inside Zenvox with parties, nature of the retainer and stated deadline
- The state — request received, retainer not accepted — is said to the caller and recorded
- You find the call, its transcript and its reason in the app
- Calls from opposing parties are flagged and receive no information
- No capability in your base depends on third-party software
Questions about this connection
Does a request passed on mean the retainer is accepted?
No, a pending matter is not an accepted client. The receptionist files a request, she does not open a retainer, and the caller is told their request is received and not accepted, in wording you approved.
Who runs the conflict check?
The firm. No acceptance is inferred from a form or a phone call, and cancelling a matter does not happen from Zenvox.
What happens if an opposing party calls?
They receive nothing: a priority message goes to the firm, and that is all. It is a rule written before day one, and it holds for opposing counsel as much as for an opposing party.
How is the application authorised?
From your account, in its region, with named scopes and a separate account per operating region; Zenvox asks for no password. The vendor commercial terms remain to be confirmed.
Can matter stage changes be tracked?
Outbound events exist, but a full history of stage changes is absent from the current response. If you want a clean audit trail it has to be kept separately, and that is the condition to meet before writing anything.
Where to next
See the practice concerned, or the full list of software studied.
Clio