Engaging Your Professional

Ready to engage your professional? Here's how to make it happen:

How do I hire someone I've found through Priori?

If the screening calls go well and you would like to hire an attorney for your project, you can request (by Message or the button on the lawyer's profile card) that the lawyer send you a "formal proposal."

The formal proposal is a statement of work that confirms the engagement details and includes a description of the work, who will be performing the work, and the agreed rate.

If all of the details in the formal proposal look good, then getting a project started on Priori is as simple as clicking "Hire"!

Screenshot: A sample formal proposal

Formal Proposal FAQs

I'd prefer to align over email - can I do that?

Sure! While you won't have the professional's email address until after clicking 'hire', you can message your professional directly through our platform. That message will be sent as an email generated by the platform, and when the professional responds, it will generate an email back to you. From there, you can use that email thread to coordinate.

What if I have specific onboarding requirements for bringing on a contractor?

Not a problem. We work with many companies that have robust or detailed processes for bringing on contingent workers. Depending on the process, you can either coordinate directly with your professional, or contact your Priori account manager for assistance.

The attorney sent me an engagement letter. I need all engagements to be on my company's standard letter.

Not a problem. Most attorneys have some flexibility around their terms of engagement. Depending on your needs, you can either coordinate directly with your professional, or contact your Priori account manager for assistance.

I need to adjust something in the formal proposal I received. How can I do that?

The best way* to seek an adjustment to a formal proposal is to message your professional through the platform. Once you land on amended terms, the professional can adjust the formal proposal and send you an updated version for your review.

*The one exception is for payment terms. All projects on the platform default to Net 14 day payment terms. If you need an adjustment, please contact your Priori account manager.

Engagement Letters. The attorney has the option of uploading an engagement letter that attaches to their formal proposal that you can view and e-sign on our platform. Alternatively, the lawyer can send you the engagement letter by Message or directly by email, whichever is preferable for you and the attorney.

Hire Attorney

You can accept the proposal by selecting the green Hire button on the lawyer's card (see screenshot above). That will open a project on our platform so that the lawyer can bill for the work. The lawyer will be notified of your acceptance by email and provided with your direct contact information to get in touch and get started with the project.

Billing and Invoicing

From there, you and the attorney can work together directly to complete the project and the attorney will use their Priori account to send invoices during the engagement.

Security. To help keep your data secure, all invoice entries are encrypted in transit and at rest. Our information security management systems are also certified under ISO 27001 and SOC 2. You can read more about our data security practices from our Security & Compliance page.

Invoices will be sent to you by email, and you can easily make payments directly from our platform. We use Stripe to manage secure, seamless transactions. You will also have access to the invoices on the Priori project page (see screenshot below).

An example of the Project view within the Priori platform. From your project page, you can view invoices, see your provider's hourly rate, share the project with your team members, and more.

If you have particular invoicing needs, don't hesitate to reach out to your provider. Our time entry software supports all standard billing practices, including ABA codes for task-based billing, detailed line-item entries, and alternative fee arrangements (AFAs.)

E-Billing Software. Priori is set up and can submit invoices using the major e-billing software providers, including Legal Tracker, BillingPoint, Simple Legal, Collaborati, CounselLink, Brightflag, Tymetrix, Tipalti and more.

Matters for Priori attorneys can be opened by searching for Priori Legal, Inc. in your e-billing software. Please contact your Priori account manager if you have any questions about getting a matter set up for e-billing.

New Projects

Already working with a platform professional, but want to use them in a new capacity? Or need to track spend across different workstreams? You can open a new project on the platform to organize your work.

For any new projects with the same lawyer, you can message or email the lawyer to directly open a new project on our platform. You do not need to submit a new RFP to work with the same attorney; they can open the project for you directly from their dashboard.

Navigating Issues

If you experience any issues with your Priori professional or engagement, we would encourage you to have a candid and respectful conversation with your provider. Frequently, issues that arise come from differences in communication styles or differing assumptions about how work should be conducted or billed. Talking with your provider can help clear the air and get your project back on track.

Have a more serious issue to navigate, or an issue involving how the platform works? Don't hesitate to reach out to us. Your Priori account manager or our operations team ([email protected]) will be able to assist.