Getting Started as an Attorney
A quick overview of the Exlitem attorney experience — searching, credits, and cases.
Exlitem helps you find the right expert witness in minutes using AI-powered search. This guide covers the core workflow and your dashboard.
#How Exlitem Works
- Search — describe what you need in plain English or use filters
- Review — browse expert profiles, credentials, and specialties
- Unlock — spend 1 credit to reveal an expert's contact details
- Connect — reach out directly via email, phone, or by sending an inquiry
#Account Setup
When you sign up, you'll complete a short onboarding to create your attorney profile. After that, you land on your Attorney Dashboard.
#Your Dashboard
The dashboard greets you by name and provides a complete overview of your activity:
#Stat Cards
Four cards at the top show your key metrics at a glance:
| Card | Description |
|---|---|
| Credits Remaining | Your current credit balance |
| Experts Unlocked | Total profiles you've unlocked |
| Inquiries Sent | Number of inquiries you've sent to experts |
| Active Cases | Number of open cases |
Screenshot
The Attorney Dashboard showing a welcome header ('Welcome back, Sarah'), four stat cards in a row (Credits Remaining: 12, Experts Unlocked: 45, Inquiries Sent: 8, Active Cases: 3), and a prominent amber 'Find Experts' button.
#Quick Actions
Below the stats, two action buttons let you:
- Create Case — start organizing a new legal matter
- Manage Shortlists — review your saved expert lists
#Recent Activity
The activity feed shows your latest actions with icons for each type:
- Search queries you've run
- Expert profiles you've unlocked
- Inquiries you've sent
- Cases you've created
- Messages received
- Shortlist updates
#Active Cases
A summary card shows your top 3 cases with their expert counts and status badges. Click any case to view its full detail page.
#Sidebar Navigation
The left sidebar provides access to all attorney features:
- Dashboard — your home screen
- Search — find expert witnesses
- Cases — manage your legal matters
- Shortlists — curated expert lists
- Inquiries — track inquiries sent to experts (with count badge)
- Messages — conversations with experts (with unread badge)
- Firm — manage your law firm team
- Profile — edit your attorney profile
- Settings — account preferences
#Credits
Credits are how you pay to unlock expert contact details. Each unlock costs 1 credit.
- New accounts receive 1 free credit on signup
- Additional credits are purchased on the Pricing page
- Credits never expire
See Credits & Unlocks for full details.
#Your First Search
Go to Find Experts and type a description of the expert you need:
"Forensic accountant in New York with securities fraud experience"
Screenshot
The Expert Search page showing the AI-powered search bar at the top with the example query 'Forensic accountant in New York with securities fraud experience' typed in, below it a grid of expert result cards showing masked names, headlines, and specialty tags.
The AI interprets your query and returns ranked results. See Searching for Experts for tips on getting the best results.