Business law
47 questions in the set — 48 for returning clients, who confirm their earlier facts · most people answer about 30
Forming a company, contracts, hiring, raising money. Later questions depend on earlier answers.
Client intake software for law firms
Know the case before the first call
Your client answers Tellbrief’s questions before the first call. You read a brief: the issue to raise first, the questions to ask, the documents to request.
Sample briefs by practice
Raise first
Who owns the recipe needs checking
“Our recipes were developed with a contract manufacturer in Ohio, and I’m not sure who owns them.”
Ask on the call
- Did they develop the recipe before working with the manufacturer, or together?
- What do the signed terms say about ownership, permitted use, confidentiality and rights after the relationship ends?
- Can the manufacturer make the same product for anyone else, and what happens if the relationship ends?
Documents to ask for
The manufacturing, co-packing or supply agreement, and any NDA with the manufacturer.
Read the rest of this brief →
Possible work to discuss
Review the development history and signed terms, then clarify ownership or licensing if the documents leave a gap.
They say the founders never signed anything between them
“My co-founder and I never signed anything between us.”
By their account, nothing signed records who owns what. If a founder leaves or the founders disagree, the split rests on memory and messages.
Ask on the call
- What split did the founders agree to, and is it written anywhere?
- What stock or membership interests were actually issued, and do the records match the split and any vesting?
- And the one with a deadline: if founder stock was issued subject to vesting, was an 83(b) election filed within 30 days of the grant? An 83(b) election is a tax filing that has to be made within 30 days of receiving the stock.
Documents to ask for
The brief names the documents to ask for, too: formation documents, any stock issuance or membership records, and anything showing the agreed split — “an agreement, a term sheet, even an email.”
Possible work to discuss
The brief lists the work each issue could lead to, so you can raise it on the call — or save it for later.
For what they asked
Review and negotiate the retailer’s vendor agreement.
Worth checking first
Confirm who owns the product and paper it with the manufacturer: ownership or license terms, and confidentiality.
Later, if they want
Move key assets and accounts into the company’s name.
The issues to raise first
1
They say an account or policy still names a former spouse
“Our wills are from before we moved here from Ohio, and my 401k still lists my ex-husband.”
Check the beneficiary form first: the form, not the will, is what the plan or insurer follows. For most employer retirement plans, including most 401(k)s (governed by ERISA), check whether the form on file still controls: the plan pays whoever the form names, state laws that cancel an ex-spouse’s designation after divorce generally don’t reach them (Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 (2001)), and a waiver in the divorce decree may not stop the plan paying the named person (Kennedy v. Plan Administrator, 555 U.S. 285 (2009)). The form itself may need changing with the plan or insurer.
Ask
- Which account or policy is it: an employer plan such as a 401(k), an IRA, or an individual policy?
- Did the divorce decree or settlement say anything about it?
Documents to ask for
- Current beneficiary forms for each retirement account, annuity and life insurance policy
- Any divorce decree or settlement agreement
- Any existing will that names a guardian
- Any prenuptial or postnuptial agreement
Read the rest of this brief →
2
Minor children, and no guardian chosen yet
“We have two kids, one still in high school.”
If no guardian is named, a court may choose who raises minor children. What they inherit may also need someone to manage it until they’re older.
Ask
- Who would they want to raise the children, and who is the backup?
- Who should manage money left to the children, and until what age?
3
There’s an earlier marriage, or children from an earlier relationship
With children from more than one relationship, leaving everything to a spouse can leave some of them out, depending on who outlives whom. A spouse’s rights can also limit what can be left to others.
Ask
- Whose children are whose, and who should inherit what?
- Is there a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement?
Also on the brief
- Their own question is whether they need a trust, or whether new wills are enough. Decide whether a trust earns its place, or new wills are enough.
- Their documents were signed in another state. Review and update the existing documents.
The issues to raise first
1
They say the other parent plans to move far away
“The kids are with me during the week, and Taylor just told me they want to move to Denver with them.”
A move can change which schedule works, and may need the other parent’s agreement or a court’s. No court case has been started, so unless an earlier order or agreement exists, nothing from a court says where the children live yet. Whether to ask for temporary orders before the move may be the first decision.
Ask
- Where and when does the other parent plan to move, and do they mean to take the children?
- What schedule could work after the move?
Documents to ask for
- Any court order about the children
- Any parenting plan or written agreement, even an informal one
- Recent statements for every account they can reach
Read the rest of this brief →
2
The children live mostly with them, and the schedule is only partly agreed
Where the children live now, and who has done most of the day-to-day care, may shape the early arrangements.
Ask
- How old are the children, and who has done most of the day-to-day care?
- How are decisions about school and health care made now?
3
They are unsure whether money or property has been moved or spent
They aren’t sure, and nothing in the answers shows what happened. Statements they can reach now, and the dates of any change, show whether there’s anything to pursue, and may be harder to get once a case starts.
Ask
- What, if anything, prompted the concern?
- Which accounts or property might be involved, and roughly when?
Also on the brief
- They earn different amounts, so support may be in question. Work out child or spousal support.
- They want to keep the home. Decide who stays in the home and who pays for it.
The issues to raise first
1
It happened one to two years ago
Filing deadlines differ by state and by kind of claim, and some are short. Check the dates before anything else.
Ask
- What is the exact date it happened?
- Where did it happen?
Documents to ask for
- Anything showing the date, like the report or the first bill
- Copies of anything they signed
- Letters or emails from insurers
- Photos of the other vehicle, including any company name or number
Read the rest of this brief →
2
They gave an insurer a recorded statement
“Their insurance company called and I gave them a recorded statement.”
What they said or signed may affect the claim, including any release or authorization to collect their records.
Ask
- When did they speak to the other side’s insurer, and what did they say about fault and their injuries?
- Did they also sign anything, such as a release or a form letting the insurer collect their medical records?
3
Their story says the other vehicle was a work vehicle
“A delivery van ran a red light and hit my driver’s side.”
If the driver was working, their employer and its insurer may also be responsible, and commercial vehicles often carry cameras or tracking that can be recorded over.
Ask
- Whose vehicle was it, and was there a company name or number on it?
- Was the driver working at the time?
Also on the brief
- Their story says they were ticketed or cited, though they answered no to being blamed. Assess shared fault.
- Their care is still going on. Gather the care so far and what’s still planned.
Fixed rules assembled this brief from the client’s answers — no AI wrote any of it.
Inspect the full fictional brief
See three more examples
Watch the walkthrough
How the issues on this brief were ranked →
$75 a brief, capped at $199 a month
Clients answer in about 15 minutes
Declined answers are deleted unread
How it works
Keep your process and add one link
01
Send the link
Add it to your booking confirmation. The questions take clients about 15 minutes, and most answers take one tap.
02
Run your conflict check first
You see their names, email and the topic — never their answers — until you clear them. Decline, and their answers are deleted unread.
03
Read the brief before the call
Save a PDF for your file if you need it.
No confirmation email yet? Start from our consultation email template.
Common questions
Setup details
You keep your booking and case tools. We set up your link with you on a short call, or you can request your link on the signup page. How setup works
Why a brief, not a form
What the brief does with their answers
The issue to raise first.
Who owns the recipe needs checking
An outside manufacturer helps make the product. The contract and development history may determine who can use the recipe. Confirm who created it, what was signed, and whether the manufacturer has any rights before treating ownership as settled. A retailer’s vendor agreement may ask them to promise they own or have the rights to the product.
Questions to ask, from their answers.
In the client’s words
“Our recipes were developed with a contract manufacturer in Ohio, and I’m not sure who owns them.”
Ask on the call
Did they develop the recipe before working with the manufacturer, or together?
A question they left blank is never answered for them — on a business brief, the blanks are listed as skipped, not guessed at.
Every answer they gave is in the brief, in the order they gave it.
Documents to ask for, named.
Documents to ask for
- The manufacturing, co-packing or supply agreement, and any NDA with the manufacturer
- Anything showing who developed it and when: notes, emails, test batches
The scope is already listed for you: Tick the lines you want — they copy into a draft email or an engagement letter’s scope.
A form gives you answers. A brief gives you the matter.
What changes on the first call
With and without a brief
| Topic | Without a brief | With Tellbrief |
|---|---|---|
| What to explore | You spot related questions mid-call. | Questions tied to their answers. |
| Documents | Records arrive after the call. | Ask before the call. The brief lists them. |
| After the call | Follow-up work gets missed. | Save a 60-day follow-up in your own calendar, with an editable email to send when it comes up. |
No AI writes it — the brief comes from the client’s own answers
Fixed rules build it from the client’s answers — same checks, same order, every client.
How the checks work
The checks look for deadlines in the answers, places where two answers don’t sit together, and documents that would settle an open question.
Tellbrief doesn’t give legal advice. Whether to take the case is your call.
Privacy, in numbers
Deletion dates, not adjectives
- 14 daysTellbrief’s copy of a delivered brief, deleted.
- 45 daysConflict-check names, kept then deleted.
- 365 daysAfter-call notes, kept then deleted.
Deletion covers Tellbrief’s copies only. The PDF you saved is yours.
Full schedule: the Security page and Privacy.
Read the sample brief for your practice — every client in it is made up.
Estate planning
28 questions in the set; most people answer 20 to 25.
Family, property and existing documents.
Family law
26 questions in the set; most people answer 20 to 25.
Safety first, then family, any court case and property.
Personal injury
22 questions in the set; most people answer about 20.
What happened, when, care so far and insurance. An older injury or government involvement is flagged first in the brief, and a settlement offer gets its own question for the call.
Why it’s worth it
What $75 buys
You can inspect the finished document before you pay anything: the sample briefs on this page are the brief itself, with made-up clients.
Start with three free briefs
$0
First three delivered briefs free. No card.
Pay per brief
$75 per brief
Capped at $199 a month, per lawyer.
For firms with up to five lawyers
$499 a month, at most
Whichever is less: $499, or brief by brief.
Full pricing details
Nothing is billed until you say you’re keeping Tellbrief. Briefs from before that day are never charged. Delivered means released after you clear the names. On the firm plan, the month you say yes is free. A month with no briefs costs nothing. A third brief in a month adds $49 — that reaches the $199 cap — and further briefs that month add nothing. Only lawyers who got briefs count toward the cap. Five lawyers at their own caps: $995. The firm cap holds it to $499. Bar members: $40 a brief, $99 a month cap per lawyer, first year. You pay only for briefs that reach you. Names you decline cost nothing. Tellbrief doesn’t take a share of legal fees and doesn’t pay or charge for referrals.
The cost of not having it
The cost of no brief
No issue to raise first. No questions chosen from their answers. No documents listed before the call. The records that would settle the open questions arrive afterwards, if they arrive. And you talk before you check names — talking with a prospective client before a conflict check can create duties under Rule 1.18 (opens in a new tab).
Questions
Common questions
Will this work with my booking software?+
Yes. Keep your tool. Add the Tellbrief link to the booking confirmation.
See setup detailsHow does the conflict check work?+
You see their names, email and the topic first — never their answers — before you clear them. Your firm runs its own conflict check and decides whether to clear the names or decline.
See the information-handling processWhat happens to prospective-client information?+
Declined: answers deleted unread, at no cost. Delivered: see the deletion dates above.
Read the privacy and data-use detailsWhat happens after my three free briefs?+
Per-brief billing starts the day you say you’re keeping Tellbrief. See Pricing.
See full pricing details